Ancient Secrets
by lazerbear7
Summary: A great power long forgotten by history sleep beneath the lands of Remnant. After thousands of years in slumber they rejoin the world and bring either new beginnings, or the end to everything on their never-ending quest for knowledge.
1. Chapter 1

The fractured moon hung in the sky above the city of Vale as it had for many years, and those on the streets continued about their nightly lives as if there was nothing to worry about. All of them were completely unaware of the thing many of them would call a monster that was starting to walk the streets. It was something from an age long past, and that had clung to the earth with a determination to strong to be broken by a force as small as death.

While he knew that some would think of him as a monster, Naze had never considered himself to be particularly evil. Sure, he had stooped to some acts of depravity every once in a while, but some acts that some would consider evil were required to bring about charities that others would consider blessings. He could understand why others bearing the title of lich had stooped to such depths as actively embracing evil, but simply didn't share the need to increase his own power through the detriment of all others. Things that he could get through the deaths of others could be gotten though just a small bit of patience. Small for him, lifetimes for others.

He brought his hands up into view. The corpse he had stolen to temporarily house him seemed to be holding up quite well. The skin was pale and looked like it was starting to tighten, but he had made sure that it wouldn't decompose. The disguise was doing its job well enough, he had gotten a few queer looks, but little more. He spied another one of the things that had been something of a mystery to him thus far, a shop for something called "dust". He had head a few men talking about robberies centering around this "dust", so he assumed that it was something valuable. He took a few of the gold coins from one of his pockets and flipped them around his fingers, wondering if he had enough to purchase some of this dust.

He walked across the smooth black street and pushed the door open. An old man waved to him from behind a table. He approached the man, gazing around the shop interestedly. There were many, he would guess hundreds of what looked like gemstones cut into various prisms hung in display cases all over the shop, and large tubes lining the walls that looked like they were filled with colored sand. He wondered what all this was for. The man behind the counter smiled welcomingly at him and said in a raggedy voice "What can I do for you?"

Naze looked around the large room again, than looked to the man. "So this is a dust shop, eh?" the man smiled again and nodded. Nathan pointed to one of the crystals in the display between him and the man and said "Can I see that one?" in a curious voice.

The man raised an eyebrow and regarded him cautiously, but opened the back of the display and pulled the red prism out and handed it over carefully. Naze took it, and as soon as his fingers touched it he could feel the magical energy thrumming through the crystal. The energy was an unmistakable hot, the kind that only elemental magic could be. He knew that the power inside of the crystal must have been very powerful for him to feel so strongly through the relatively weak link to him that the body had.

He handed the crystal back to the man, who looked relieved that he had not tried to take it. He was about to ask what exactly dust was used for when the door to the shop behind him was thrown open, causing it to slam loudly against the wall. Both men already in the shop turned their attention to the source of the noise, and found themselves facing something that neither one was expecting.

A group of about seven men were coming through the door, all of them carrying what looked like weapons. The foremost one of the group held up his weapon and pointed it towards the man behind the counter, saying "Give us the dust." in a deathly serious tone. Naze noted with interest both the strange white mask and the pair of small antlers protruding from the man's forehead.

Another of the men held up his weapon towards Naze and said "Put your hands up and turn out your pockets." while taking a few steps toward him. He let out a frustrated sigh. He hadn't anticipated fighting in this body, and had therefor not prepared for it. He doubted that he would even be able to cast any magic without causing extreme damage to the body. So he came down to a question; was it worth it? He took a moment to weigh the question in him mind. The man took another step towards him, and pushed the end of his weapon into Naze's face, shouting "Put your hands up!"

Naze glanced behind him at the cut gems of elemental power, and an idea popped into his head. Not one that particularly complemented the years upon years of study of the arcane, but sometimes simple problems required simple solutions. He closed his fist and drove it through the glass display case, opening his hand briefly to get a gem in his hand. He could feel shards of the glass embed themselves in his arms and hands, and felt glad that the flesh was already dead.

With the gem in hand, he spun as quickly as he could and raised his arm to the head level of the man who was threatening him. The sharp end of the gem buried itself in the temple of the man, and he crumpled to the floor. The rest of the robbers turned their attention to him quickly, and leveled their weapons on him. Without hesitation, they all fired on him.

Numerous bursts of energy drove themselves through Naze's current body, each one accompanied by a loud percussive sound. The last of the barrage pushed him against the edge of the display case. There seemed to be some expectancy hanging in the air, as if everyone was expecting him to crumple to the floor. He knew the opportunity for scaring people when he saw it.

He started to laugh. It wasn't a hearty laugh, but more of a chuckle than anything else, twisted into a wet gurgling sound thanks to one of the holes in his chest. He couldn't see their faces through their masks, but their body language made it clear that they were put off, to say the least. He raised an arm towards the downed man, and blasted as much necromantic power through the corpse as possible. The magic coiled out from his hand and encircled the corpse like a snake, lifting it from the ground and standing it limply up on its feet. As this happened, the necromantic energy started to distort the spell that he had used to keep his current body from decaying, now instead causing his hands to shrivel and blacken.

The magic flowing from his hands stopped, and the body of the robber now stood still under its own power. Without hesitating, Naze commanded it to attack the others who had come with it, and it did. It's slow and shambling movements made Naze cringe as the quality of his work displayed itself in front of him, but it did attack with the weapon still clutched in its hand, each twitch of its finger causing another earsplitting discharge of energy.

The two men closest to the newly-made zombie decided that it would be a good idea to tackle it, and found that they were right. Both men held the creature's arms down with their knees, talking to it as if they could bring the man out of whatever trance they thought he was in.

It seemed that things were calming down when a cry from outside the shop rang out and grabbed the attention of the robbers. Naze looked past them and saw something that he wasn't entirely sure how to interpret. A quintet of teenage-looking girls was standing on the other side of the street, each one in a practiced battle stance and holding weapons that were almost as befuddling as the warriors themselves.

One of the girls held what looked to him like a dueling rapier, but on the handle of the blade there was a complex mechanism and several vials of the same colored sand that was in tubes along the walls of the shop. The next weapon that Naze was able to identify was a scythe, one that he had always approved of whether it was being used to harvest a crop or lives. It seemed to have additional functions however, if the numerous metal additions along the handle as well as the blade itself were anything to judge by.

The next weapon was fairly easy to identify and divine the primary function of, it being a pair of bright yellow gauntlets that looked hard enough to crack a skull easily. There was a belt of small cartridges wrapped around an area about halfway up the gauntlets, and he assumed that those did something as well. The last weapon looked fairly unassuming in comparison to the others, it looking like a small black version of the weapons the robbers were using, only with the addition of a long black blade on the top.

Naze was starting to feel like he was picking up on a common motif for each of the weapons. Each one seemed to have some thus-indeterminate amount of secondary uses. With the weaponry of the newcomers determined to some degree, he turned his attention to the fighters themselves. His second look at them proved just as, if not more confusing as his first. They were all teenage girls, all built svelte to the point that he doubted that they would be able to fight very affectively. Each one seemed to have one primary color as well, which puzzled him. It had always been his opinion that members of a team (assuming that they were a team) should garb themselves similarly. One was red, one was white, one was black, and one was yellow.

In the half second that it had taken him to process this information, they had already started their charge. The first one to meet with their adversary was the one clad in yellow, and the secondary function of her gauntlets was reviled. Strong blasts of an unfocused magic energy pounded their way out of the gauntlets and slammed into the nearest robber. The man was blown off of his feet and thrown to the ground. The other three girls entered the fight quickly, and Naze would've loved nothing more than to watch them fight, but at some point the two men who had been holding his zombie down had gotten up to turn and face their new opponents, apparently interpreting the four girls as a larger threat than the zombie. Under normal circumstances they might have been right, but the red crystal of elemental power lodged in the side of its head changed the situation slightly.

The girl in a red hood over a black skirt slammed the blade of her scythe into the ground and seemed to take aim down its length. Whether she meant to or not, the first shot from her weapon flew wide of her intended target, and instead found its way to the dust crystal.

Naze had walked the earth for a long time, some might say far longer than any mortal had a right to, and as a consequence it was difficult to surprise him. The violence of the explosion that resulted from the single misfire, without a doubt, surprised him. If he hadn't seen what had happened himself, he would have guessed that a contingent of mages had all agreed to annihilate themselves in the most devastating way they could muster simultaneously. A single spark from the fiery eruption of the zombie's skull fell onto the tall tubes of dust mounted on the walls, and then everything turned into a blur.

Fire and lightning, ice and steam, all kind of elements engulfed the small store and everything in it. Naze could just barely see a few of the robbers and the four teenage warriors thrown clear of the elemental explosion by its initial blast. He knew that neither he nor the shopkeeper would be quite so lucky. He tried to construct some kind of shield around himself, but the body he was inhabiting was incapable of handling the power required.

He was thrown around like a ragdoll for about half a second before the cloud of magic started to thin, and he was launched out of the shop, the grey stone of a building across the street rushing to meet him halfway through his journey. In the ensuing contest between stone and bone, stone was quick to emerge the victor, Naze's spine and one shoulder blade shattering nearly beyond recognition. He fell about one story back down to the street and landed like a wet bag of sand, something below him squelching under his weight.

He looked down to find the source of the noise, and was further surprised to find the lower half of his body gone. Sickly looking blackened entrails were hanging limply from what had previously been his abdomen, but was now little more than a useless flap. The various partially rotted viscera and entrails betrayed the undead nature of the body he inhabited, but he doubted that there was anyone immediately present who would recognize it.

He maneuvered himself to lean up against the wall with his arms, somewhat surprised at the fact he still had arms. He felt a few muscles in his back scrape against the remnants of his shoulder blade and the break in his spine a few inches below the base of the spine. If the force governing his movements was still the nervous system, he would be paralyzed.

Now in a much better position to observe the proceeding event, he stopped moving. The four teenagers were looking at each other, making sure that they were unharmed, until one of them spotted him. He cursed quietly to himself as the one who had seen him, the one wearing the red cloak, said something to the others than started to run towards him. What she had said to her comrades was drown out by the still roaring cacophony of the exploding dust shop, but their immediate actions were more than enough to judge by. One started to tend to the robbers who had been thrown free of the blast, binding their hands and feet, while the other two attempted to get whoever was still in the shop out.

The one running towards him seemed to realize something, whether it was the lack of anything below the torso, the diseased look of the organs hanging out, or something that he wasn't aware of he didn't know, but whatever it was seemed to call fourth some urgency that hadn't been there before. She crouched low to the ground for a second before doing something that Naze had never seen a human do. He would have described it as a blink, except that it was clearly not any kind of arcane magic, as well as the fact that she didn't really disappear. She accelerated to a blur, red pedals being thrown up in her wake, and came to a stop kneeling over Naze, her hands hovering over him and shaking like she was afraid she would do some kind of further damage to him.

He smiled up at her, realizing as his lips pulled back that several of his teeth had been knocked out as well. She looked like she was about to speak, but quickly clutched her hands to her mouth and turned away. Naze wondered with amusement if it was the smell or the sight that had done it. He tried to speak, but after a few moments of wet gurgling it was clear that speech was going to take a little more effort than normal. The girl heard the sounds of his attempt at talking and, finally let go of whatever attempt at decency she was holding onto, allowing her stomach to empty itself on the sidewalk.

Naze attempted to speak again, feeling that this time he would be much more understandable. "What's your name, girl?" he said, his voice still sounding wet and bubbly from the clotted blood that was leaking slowly into places it shouldn't have been, namely his throat.

She looked at him with an incredibly concerned expression and said in a voice that reflected both confusion and worry "What?" like she didn't understand the question. Naze rolled his eyes and said again "Your name, girl. What is your name?"

She looked taken aback by his casual nature, but said "I'm… I'm Ruby." Naze nodded. With one final look down at his ruined body, he decided that it would be a better decision to cut his losses and start again with the knowledge he had gotten so far. Not everything in this body had to go to waste, however. "Well Ruby…" he started, making to push himself off of the wall slightly "…I need you to do something for me, you see? Are you willing?"

Ruby stuttered, saying "I-I really th-think we should get you some-" and Naze cut her off. He said "Look at me, I highly doubt that anything is going to help me at this point. I need you to do something else." Ruby leaned forward, listening carefully. Naze tried to speak again, but found his throat blocked by viscera again. He turned his head slightly to the side and coughed, sending flecks of blood spraying out. Ruby recoiled slightly, and he realized that he hadn't quite turned his head far enough.

His throat clear again, he said "I need you to open the seam at the base of my spine, and pull the gem out." The look of confusion that came across Ruby's face wasn't entirely unwarranted. She recoiled again, but Naze fixed her with a stony gaze and said "Yes, that simple. After you take it, I need you to keep it safe. I would prefer you not tell anyone about it."

Ruby shook her head and said "Wait, what? Why?" Naze gave an annoyed sigh and said "I haven't got much time, girl, just do it!" The sternness of his voice seemed to have a much greater effect on her, as she immediately put her fingers to the back of Naze's neck and started to feel for the stitches he talked about.

Knowing that she would do as he asked, Naze withdrew from the corpse, his consciousness withdrawing from the very crystal that he had asked. His mind reentered his real body, far away in the city he had been in moments before. The dark and stingy air seemed far more comforting than the outside. He took his withered hands off of the magical orb suspended above an ornate stone plinth and stepped back from it.

The gem that he had told the girl to retrieve and keep was special, enchanted and inscribed with runes nearly too small to see that allowed him to project his own magical power over vast distances. He mainly used such crystals to control his undead directly, but situations where such control was needed were few and far between. The attention that had to be paid to each miniscule detail, combined with the fact that fixing a mistake was near impossible meant that each one represented a significant investment of time that could've been spent doing something else. He hated to see so much effort go to waste. He had confidence that the girl, Ruby, would do as he had asked. She didn't seem the type to disregard what she thought were someone's last words.

His hand went to his side and removed the heavy tome from the chain that kept it secured solidly to his body. Of all the artifacts that he had created, this was the second most valuable to him. The book bore numerous enchantments, likely more than his own phylactery did. Amongst most liches such a thing was unheard of, but the book contained every scrap of knowledge that he had ever uncovered, making it plausibly one of the most powerful and dangerous objects on the planet. With a brush across the cover, the countless locks and wards, both physical and magical, snapped open. Pages turned quickly of their own accord, knowing already what their master was looking for.

The book stopped on a blank page, and Naze held a decrepit hand over it, focusing on a spell that he knew well since becoming a lich. Glyphs appeared on the ancient paper, glowing brightly and smoking as they did so. Not only the knowledge, but the experience of what had happened was stored in those markings. I he, or anyone else who managed to open the book decided to look back on the page, they would not only have a written record but live the experience as if it were their own. Once the entirety of his venture into the city was recorded, Naze replaced the tome on its chain and turned to leave the large room.

He walked through the stagnant corridors, every footstep creating a myriad of echoes as they bounced their way through the vast subterranean complex that Naze called his home for so long that even he had lost count of the years. It was down in these cold dark depths that he had performed enough research to last eons. It was down in these depths that he had truly earned the title "Naze the Eternal".


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:**  
I cranked this out in...two days? I think i need some sleep

Anyways, You should leave a review and favorite the story if you like it, because I appreciate feedback.  
So, without further delay;

the second chapter

* * *

Naze cast his thoughts forward to what he would need soon. He would need a fresh corpse, a weapon to contend with the ones that he had seen, and the materials to make the fresh corpse what he needed it to be. He could have done all of this himself, but it would take far too long, and the result wouldn't have been nearly as high quality. He decided that he would awaken the rest of the sleepers in the dark corners of the temple. Something close to a smile worked its way across the stiff, old muscles in his face as he thought about the friends who would reawaken soon.

All of them had been locked in a deep, dreamless sleep for… Naze didn't know how long they had slept, but something had awoken him, and now he would awaken them. There were preparations that he wanted to make before doing this, though. There were libraries to clean, forges to light, rooms to secure, all things that he wanted to do by himself.

He reached a fork in the hall, the paths branching off both to the right and the left. Someone else might have gotten lost in all of the twisting and turning passages, but he had overseen their construction, and he knew his way around. He took the left path, and held his hand palm up, slightly away from him. With a small flexing of his magical power, he created a roaring flame in his hand. It was fairly small but gradually grew as he walked. He continued walking for several minutes, and by the time he reached his destination the small fireball had turned into a massive blazing inferno, almost twice Naze's size. It felt good to be in complete command and control of his full powers again.

He stopped in front of a large set of stairs that descended down into pitch black. Pouring the last of the power that the spell required to reach its full potential, Naze pulled his arm back and lobbed the raging inferno of magefire down into the darkness. It cut through the dark, until it connected with its target. The entire floor of the massive room seemed to ignite, jets of flammable gas and molten rock being expelled from the sudden reawakening of the vein of magma. He smiled again as he imagined the mad cackling of the friend he had who would be making use of this forge. He was a master at what he did, having discovered numerous ways to smith metal and create alloys. The room was almost a mile in length and width, and half a mile in height. Some who weren't involved in the smiting often questioned the need for such large and extravagant facilities, but most understood that extra time often led to extravagant design. The fiery floor spat another gout of red-orange paste, which engulfed one of the catwalks hanging from the distant roof then fell back through the grates that made up the majority of the walkway, not even causing the slightest change in the metal.

Naze turned away, feeling some anticipation for seeing the look on the face of his friend. For him to be reunited with his love would be amusing to say the least. The forge now working, he set off towards his next destination. The library was an incredible structure, nowhere near the size and scale of the forge, but no less impressive. Billions of books gathered from countless sources over millions of years were all housed here, each and every one maintained and organized on shelves that bore special enchantments allowing each individual row to hold many times its normal capacity. The order of the room was usually maintained by a large team of librarians, but they, like all the others, were still asleep. In their absence, a thick coat of dust had settled over everything. Naze toyed amusedly with the thought of their hurried scrambling to clean and inspect every single one for a moment before deciding to help them. He extended a hand out towards the shelves, and a breeze started to flow, disturbing the still air. It was strong enough to lift most of the dust off of the exposed books, but while he didn't know how long they had been asleep, he did know that it was long enough for the pages of knowledge that were so valued to be invaded by the pervasive force that grime seemed to possess.

The library in reasonable order, Naze left, going to the next facility that required his attention. On his way he passed one of the many other rooms that filled his facility. Through the darkness that filled the room he could see glyphs and runes glowing dully. He recognized all of them as demonic. While the presence of demonic symbols did not surprise him, it did that those conducting the research into demonic powers would have left their symbols up. He kept walking. Demonology didn't trouble him as it did many others. To him it was only knowledge, not any more inherently dangerous. Finding those who were willing to conduct research into the demonic was a difficult challenge, but the number of those willing was significantly increased when the dead were given the option. Options not available to the living became open to the dead, souls were easier to protect after they had left the body, preventing the twisting influence of demons to corrupt them.

He continued walking. The corridors turned to a steep slant upwards, and the amount of rooms on the sides started to increase drastically. He knew that in those rooms were the slumbering undead, lying motionless one the floor, waiting for his call to reawaken. But they had waited this long, a little more time wouldn't hurt anything. He walked past the rooms and soon found himself in the upper levels of the temple.

One of the final rooms that he wanted to check on was the enchanting room. It didn't hold any tools or apparatus that required any kind of start, but he wanted to check in for his own piece of mind. He looked in, and found numerous tables with countless kinds of powders, gems, and inscribing tools resting on their surfaces.

Naze was reminded of the gem that he had lost, now in possession of the girl Ruby. He wondered what had happened to her, and what she was doing now. He pulled a small wooden trinket from his belt and felt it. The charm vibrated softly in his hand, and he paid special attention to it. By feeling the intensity of the vibrations, he determined that it had been several hours since his exchange with her. Time seemed to pass very quickly within the halls he called home.

Finally, he arrived at his last stop. The heavyset door at the top of the hall's incline stared resolutely back at him silently. Naze smiled as he saw that the seal the door had been locked with had not been opened. He reached out to the door, his hand alighting on the top of the ornate carvings and magical inscription that covered it. He hadn't used the door when inhabiting the body of some teenager, instead making use of a teleportation spell to the nearest large settlement, which turned out to be Vale. He put some of his vast magical power into the door in a very specific pattern, and one by one the locks snapped open.

The immense stone door lifted, and reviled a lush, dark green landscape surrounded by high mountains. Naze knew better though. He knew that they weren't mountains at all, but that he and all he had built was in a massive crater.

He looked down towards the ground far below from the top of the large ziggurat that capped the massive underground complex. It seemed the same as he had left it, albeit slightly more overgrown with various vines and creepers. Something else grabbed his attention, something that shouldn't have been there. Several pillars of black smoke were rising out of the lush green capped jungle in front of him, and he traced them back to what looked like a clearing that hadn't been there before. He could just see the top of what looked like a wooden building. He raised an eyebrow and said to himself "What have we here? Settlers?" he snorted as well as an ancient dried corpse could "I'm afraid you've chosen a bad location."

He turned back into the ziggurat and stalked back in, now content that everything was ready enough for him to raise his companions. As he walked through the halls, he spread his arms wide and blasted necrotic magic in every direction. The engravings that covered the walls and roof of the halls lit up briefly after they were washed with the death-energies that Naze had mastered fervently. It sank into the stone that made the tunnels and sank down into the lowest depths of the halls. As he came within earshot of the many rooms that housed the sleeping undead, he heard the echoes of conversation. It silenced as he passed, and was replaced by the growing sound of hundreds of shambling footsteps.

He continued to walk, knowing that every single one of them knew already to follow him. He wondered how things would be if he had followed the example of the other liches that had both preceded and proceeded him and made his followers mindless slaves. Instead, what he had always done was to preserve the original personality of those he reanimated to join in his quest for knowledge. This technique meant that the reanimation process was rather lengthy, and that the resulting undead weren't automatically bound to do what he commanded, but he viewed the wide range of deviants incredibly useful. It would have been impossible for him to have gained as much knowledge as he had if it had been only him researching. As a result of this he was always very selective about who he reanimated. One of the most important rules that he followed for himself was that the person was willing to return to their corpse and resume the work their death had stopped. The amount of people who accepted the offer had always surprised him. There were those who were reanimated without their own wills, but they were used for combat or experimentation, the only thing brought back their bodies. Naze avoided making enemies of the dead, finding friends and allies much more useful.

He turned a corner and entered a large empty room with a raised section of flooring towards the back like a stage. He continued walking towards it, stepping up the stairs on the far side and taking a position facing the crowd of corpses and raised his hands above his head. A cheer rolled through the crowd, thousands of voices raised in cheer. He lowered his hands, and the cheers faded as well.

"We-" he called out to the crowd "-have returned!" Another cheer, small compared to the last one, rolled through the crowd. Naze nodded and said "And so our quest continues now! All of you remember your places well, and I want you right back there." He paused for a short minute and started pacing, then said "We have slumbered long, and I fear that the world has changed radically in that time. I have ventured out to inspect things, and it seems that we are all that remains of anything we knew. None of the kingdoms, none of the continents, even the moon has been broken into pieces! It would also seem that all knowledge of the arcane arts that we have vigilantly gathered is remembered. And so, it is for this reason that I am faced with something of a dilemma." Whispers worked their way through the crowd from one ghoul to another, than he said "We have always been gatherers, but things have shifted now. I ask you, for it is not me that has made half the discoveries that you have-"

That was fairly accurate. His research had always been focused on magic exclusively, it was the groups of scholars and masters of trades in front of him that had discovered methods of forging steel far beyond the quality any other could, rivaling the weapons of demons themselves.

"-has the time for us to become teachers come? I ask you, and I will leave the question to you, that when you reach an answer you may share it with me, and actions will be planned accordingly." He didn't think they would be very enthusiastic about giving away that which they had spent their entire undeath gathering, but they had surprised him in the past.

Naze felt that he had told them all that they needed to be told, and waved a hand, saying "Now, go back to your passions. Resume your work, and learn all that you can!" With one final cheer, scholars and masters started streaming out of the room, chattering among themselves about what had been said and about what they thought was going to be different.

Naze remained up on the stage, and sent a telepathic message to several of the undead that he needed to speak with. As he started to be able to tick them out of a crowd by seeing who was going against the general flow of the crowd he couldn't help but be immensely glad with the perks that being a lich came with, even after so many years.

One by one, the four that he had called met him. Brazen, a hunched ghoul with gangly limbs, sunken black eyes, charred sprouts of what was once point hair, and more burn marks than could be counted was the first to arrive, garbed in loose linen clothing. He was the master of the forges, and the one who made most discoveries having to do with metalworking.

The next was Azrile, a clean white skeleton who had shed his flesh completely when risen by Naze, who was regarded to be the best enchanter and scribe of them all, even better than Naze. He wore ornate silken robes with sashes of paper like leather prominently displaying archaic runes.

Trailing behind him was the crawling form of Morgana, her limbs twisted in ways that made it easy for her to crawl across the floor on her hands and feet nimbly. She was the resident flesh-smith of the hodgepodge of group, having devoted her time living to learning about chemicals and compounds that could change the way that things grew and lived. It wasn't long before she had found chemicals to change the dead as well. Unfortunately for her, she had been hunted down and executed, hung by the neck until dead for practicing her foul arts. Her execution had had a profound effect on her psyche, more than most did. As strange as it was; most people were able to simply move on, but she was not. The result of this was her still wearing the tight noose and burlap bag with beady eyeholes cut in the front over her head that she had been buried with. Fortunately, she used the resulting mental trauma as fuel for her creations and alterations. When an undead needed to be bigger, stronger, or healed, she was the one who was sought out. She taught few others, and had very little patience for failure. But fortunately, in her field "failure" was a very difficult thing to achieve. The first thing that usually tasted her chemicals and toxins was her.

It was a few moments before the last of the group arrived. The undead man who was possibly the most alive looking of all the corpses who called the ziggurat home, Daniel, was wearing simple farmer's clothes and had a large shovel over his shoulder. He was one of the very few in service of Naze who didn't have any great aspiration to gain knowledge. Instead, he was a mortician in life, and had become essentially the opposite in death. He had a talent that no one could really explain, in spite of their efforts. He could tell much about what kind of person was buried in a grave, even without any kind of magical knowledge or any detectable assistance. When anyone asked him about it, he simply said "It's just a feeling" in a tired voice. The reason that he always looked like he had died only a day ago was that the first thing he had done after Naze had resurrected him was to embalm himself. At first Naze had questioned the wisdom of keeping the man around, but his services had proven quite invaluable over the years, finding and singling out the graves of scholars for Naze to propose his well-rehearsed deal to.

The party of masters of their crafts stood (or in Morgana's case, supporting herself on her heels and palms) and started at Naze. He looked them over with a critical eye before saying "Welcome back to the land of the living." placing a small amount of emphasis on the last word of the sentence to point out the joke. Azrile made a sound that, if he still had any skin, probably would have been a chuckle. His was the only reaction that was obvious, Brazen twitched slightly, as he often did. Daniel and Morgana simply continued staring.

Naze continued. "While I look forward to your return to your research, I have some tasks for you to do. They shouldn't take too long, so long as you all work together on them." The individuals had had some conflict in the past, but he knew that they could work through it. "Brazen, I need you to forge me a weapon. Make it…" he considered for a moment, then continued "…make it a blade. I want the metal as strong and durable as you can make it." Brazen gave a few twitchy nods and replied "Yes sir"

Naze turned to Daniel and said "Your job will be to find a specific kind of body. I need a boy, about seventeen, mildly athletic, and not rotted. Find it, work your magic, than bring it back. You need to make sure that it doesn't rot." Daniel nodded solemnly and said "You will have it."

Naze spoke to Morgana, saying "Your job will be to make that body better. Make it as durable and strong as you can, but don't change its appearance too much. It needs to be something that doesn't arouse suspicion. Got that?" Morgana responded, her voice sounding like the bow of a violin being dragged across her vocal chords "Easy. So long as I get it soon."

She always had wanted to get assignments out of the way quickly. He turned to the last of his colleagues, Azrile. "Your job will be the most expansive, you'll have a hand in both the body and the blade. I want the blade enchanted and runed so I can put my own magic into it, and I want it inscribed with elemental runes of all kinds." Azrile nodded, then said "What of the body, my lord? What am I to do with it?"

Naze replied, saying "My last foray out into the world ended quite quickly. If I had been able to channel my power better, that wouldn't have happened. I want multiple domination crystals in the body, as well as a socket for another in the blade. Don't concern yourself with the one in the blade, I've already got one in mind for that." Azrile nodded again, and asked "How many crystals in the body, my lord? I'm sure I need not remind you that too many can have unfortunate consequences."

Naze said "Three should be enough. Enough, at least, to fend for myself. Distribute them through the body as you see fit." He turned and addressed the part as a whole "Now, go to it. I want to be informed as soon as any of you make progress. Daniel, get the help from a few of the mages to get you to the city quickly. It shouldn't be much of a problem once you get there." He turned, signaling that he was done giving orders. They all gave some form of affirmation before turning and walking to their places of work.

Naze looked at the ground, thinking about what he would do while they worked. There wasn't much that he could do to speed things up, each one of them was the best at what they did. He would just be in the way. He could, however, do something else. Not very useful to the overall wellbeing of the little collective he had built, but more a matter of personal curiosity.

As the last of the undead exited the room (Brazen moving the fastest of all of them, running as enthusiastically as a charred corpse could run) Naze prepared a spell. It was one that he normally didn't have need for, but he wanted to be sure that he was being listened to.

He threw one hand up in the air, a small ball of light hovering in-between his fingers. As he let more of his energies flow into it, the ball grew brighter and brighter, until eventually it was nearly as bright as the sun when it hung in the sky. Content with its brightness, he lowered his hand and let the ball stay suspended in midair. His spell complete, he sent out another mental command to a very specific group. It was only seconds before the inky black shadows came soaring over the heads of those who were still making their way out of the room. Very quickly, Naze was surrounded by thin silhouettes that tapered off into thin needle tip points on the ground with glowing yellow eyes that seemed to hold an otherworldly sense of perception about them, like they could see far more than any other thing that walked the earth. These creatures were called "shades" and they acted as Naze's eyes and ears in matters that were on a far larger scale, keeping him informed of matters on a global scale.

They didn't have individual identities, at least not that they cared to share. They were the souls of voyeurs, those who didn't have any specific field of knowledge, but simply sought to know things. They were spies, neighbors, and scouts, all people who wished to remain in the shadows and to stick their noses where they didn't belong. Naze was happy to facilitate this, so long as they were willing to report their findings back to him if he asked. They had been most useful in the past, bringing secrets and sometimes even warnings back. They were the only ethereal things that Nathan raised from the dead, for physical bodies would only impede their function. They often spent their time away from the ziggurat, and thus most of the undead didn't have well-formed opinions about them.

Naze addressed them as a group, much like he had the rest of the undead. "Much has changed since we went to sleep, and it has always been your duty to bring information from all corners of the world. This has not changed, so go. Go out and do what it is that you do best."

They all stared back at him silently before scattering again, soaring through the air and a few even seeming to melt through the walls. Naze held one in front of him, intending a particular assignment for it. It stood still, staring, waiting. He took a step forward and said "In the city, Vale, there is a girl. Her name is Ruby. When I saw her she was wearing a black dress and red hood. She is in possession of an item of extreme magical power. Find her and keep an eye on her." The soul in front of him stared blankly for a moment before flying off like all the others. He watched it go before starting to walk out of the room and observe the resumption of research.

* * *

Ruby woke up with a start, her skin covered in a cold sweat and a scream hanging just behind her lips. In a hurried motion she flung herself out from under the covers and away from the thing that had been so close to her moments before. Her body collided with the floor with a loud thump, and she squealed loudly and scrabbled across the floor. Something in the dark room moved. Ruby worked her way under the bed she was leaning against and prayed that whatever was moving wouldn't notice her.

Bright light smashed into her eyes and she held her hands up, trying to protect herself. Her body curled into a ball instinctively, trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Ruby? What are you doing down there?" Yang's voice cut through the silence that was roaring through Ruby's mind. She opened her eyes and looked up. Yang was looking at her with a worried expression from behind a flashlight, and Weiss was looking at her as well from her bed. She looked from one to the other for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice "I… I don't know. I think I had a bad dream." Her voice reminded her of when she was little and ran to Yang after having a nightmare. Yang gave her a sympathetic look and said "Aw, are you alright? What was it about?"

Bodies. Bodies and rot and disgusting dark fluids leaking out of gaping wounds. Her friends and family falling in battle and turning to a sickly mash, talking to her the whole while with their voices becoming croaky and wet sounding the whole time. Just like what had happened earlier today…

She looked at the palm-sized crystal clutched in her hand that she had removed from the guy's spine. It must have been her imagination, but she could've sworn that the fetid smell of the corpse was still clinging to the thing. It was impossible, she had washed the thing off nearly a hundred times, scrubbing it so hard that her hands felt raw. "It was… nothing." She said, shaking her head and climbing out from under the bed.

"Well, sis, you know you can talk to me any time you need to, right?" her sister said, clapping her on the back. Weiss spoke from the bed, her legs over the side of her bed, saying "Yes, we can help you if you need it. You don't need to keep anything from us." Yang gave her another worried look and asked "Is it what happened at the shop?"

Ruby shrugged off Yang's hand and said "Guys, I'm fine. I've seen stuff like that before." And started walking back to her bed. She climbed up onto her bed and threw her covers back over herself. Yang clicked her flashlight off, and the darkness covered her again. A tear rolled its way down her cheek before she clenched her eyes shut and forced the fear out of her mind. If she had another nightmare before the sun rose again, than she would just have to deal with it. Of course she was having a nightmare, it was only natural after what she had seen, right? It would get better over time, right?

She rolled over under her covers. She couldn't get rid of the feeling she was being watched.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**:

I like writing this. If you guys want to leave a review I would appreciate it, and if you feel like sharing this with your friends I would appreciate that to.

* * *

The professor said something with particular emphasis, jerking Ruby out of her sleep. She could tell from the sound that Weiss made that she had probably elbowed her. She lifted her head off of her arms and looked over at Weiss, who fixed her with an angry glare and motioned towards the teacher, indicating where Ruby should direct her attention. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on the lesson again. She hadn't been sleeping well as of late. The constant threat of nightmares had kept her from falling asleep voluntarily, and when she did slip up and fall into unconsciousness the visions of her friends decaying before her was quick to jolt her out of it.

For nearly a week she had gone on like this, and it finally seemed to be catching up with her. Her arms and legs felt heavy all the time, it was getting harder to think, and even worse she hadn't been able to use her semblance at all. She had tried many times, but hadn't been able to move any faster than anyone else could. Perhaps even worse than that, her aura seemed to be weakening as well. During her practice bouts with her teammates their blows were staring to actually hurt her, the protective effect that it usually offered fading the more fatigued she got.

The bell rang loudly, startling Ruby enough to make her jump again. Her friends gave her a few worried looks as they got up and started to leave. When the four reached the outside of the room, Yang, Blake, and Weiss all made a semicircle around Ruby and stop, halting her progress. She gave an annoyed sight and tried to push past them, but they stopped her again. "Come on guys! I need to get to the library!" she said, annoyed.

Yang shook her head and said "Ruby, you've got a problem. Your grades have been dropping, you haven't been sleeping and, I don't know if you're aware, but you've started to scream in your sleep. I don't know what's going on with you, but it's starting to be a problem." Weiss stepped forward and said "If there is anything that we can do to help, you know that we'll do it!"

Ruby gave an angry sigh and looked down at the floor. But, now that she thought about it, there really was no reason for her not to tell them. As much as she hated to think about it, the kid from earlier had said that he preferred her not to tell anyone about it, not that she couldn't. She pulled the palm-sized gem from her pocket and said "I… got this from that kid at the dust shop."

The girls looked at it curiously, Weiss even taking it from her hand and examining it closely. As soon as the thing left her hand, Ruby felt like a huge weight was lifted off of her chest. An immediate sense of worry seemed to come across her mind as she realized that she hadn't even noticed the weight building. She immediately wanted to snatch the thing away from Weiss, not because she wanted to keep it, but because she wanted to protect her friend from whatever effects the thing might have on her. She lashed out in an attempt to snatch it from Weiss's hand, but the toll on her body must have been worse than she thought, because not only did Weiss manage to pull her hand away but Ruby would've missed her hand entirely.

This made all of them take a small step back and give her some very worried looks. They didn't know why she had done that, and they probably thought that she wanted the thing back. "Alright…" Weiss said slowly, tucking the gem into one of her pockets "…I think that we can all agree that taking this away from her is a good move, right?"

None of the others said anything. Ruby had to do something. Yang stepped next to her and put an arm over her shoulder, trying to set her sister at ease, saying "Don't worry Ruby. We can take this thing to Ozpin, he's got to know something about it!" Whatever research they were going to do on the gem, she knew that taking it to Ozpin would be the opposite of keeping the thing safe. She needed to keep knowledge about the gem in-between the smallest number of people as possible. If Ozpin knew, there would be no possible way to keep things under control.

"No!" She said loudly, starting to get flustered. "We can't take it to Ozpin. We just need to keep it secret. All that the kid said was that I had to keep it safe. If we tell Ozpin, he'll take it!" The other three looked at each other with eyebrows raised. Ruby's heart pounded in her chest as the others seemed to consider what she said. After a few moments of nerve grinding silence, Yang said "Well… I guess that keeping it can't be too bad, right guys? As long as we're careful with it, we should be fine!"

Ruby felt a wave of gratitude towards her sister wash over her. Blake and Weiss looked at each other, then both nodded their heads. "Alright, but we really should be careful with it." Weiss said "How are we going to do that? Can we just lock it up here?" she gestured around at the room. Blake nodded and said "Yea, we could hide it somewhere in the room while we are out."

They all looked at Ruby to see if this was expectable. Ruby shook her head almost instantly, saying "No, one of us has to keep it!" Ruby saw the looks that they gave each other and knew that she still had things to explain. "I would just much rather one of us always have it, so that if, you know, one of us gets nervous about it…" her voice tapered off as she quickly realized that any subtly that she was talking about herself was lost.

The group was silent for a few seconds before Yang said "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm alright with this. I'll take it first." She held a hand out to Weiss confidently. Weiss hesitated for a moment before digging it out of whatever pocket she had stuffed it in and handed it over. As the gem dropped into Yang's palm she immediately felt something start watching her. It was the same sort of tingling that usually preceded a surprise attack by something that she had trained herself over years to feel. She glanced around, immediately put on edge. He wondered if Weiss had noticed the same thing.

Blake noticed the change and said "Is everything alright? What's it like? Do we need to get rid of it?" Ruby was about to interject, saying that they couldn't, but Yang shook her head and said "No, it just feels weird. Like I'm being watched. It's nothing too bad."

Weiss looked around them at the halls as a few small groups started to walk past them and said "Maybe we should find someplace a little more private to discuss this matter."

The other girls looked around and seemed to notice the people around them as well and agreed. They walked back to their dorm room, intending to settle the issue of how they would handle the gem until whatever was supposed to happen happened. It should have been an easy walk across campus. Should have been.

As she walked, Ruby couldn't help but feel something strange. She started to hear whispers, not loud enough to tell what they were saying, but loud enough to hear. She didn't know what was making the voices come, but she had the distinct impression that if she were able to get her hands on the gem, the voices would stop. She continued walking, thinking that she could wait until they reached their room.

It was about halfway across campus until she knew that she couldn't make it. The voices only kept growing louder and louder. She kept walking, her hands going to her head and covering her ears. The others slowed and stopped as they noticed her slowing. The pressure in her head built to an intolerable level, and she staggered and fell to the ground. The others started trying to help her up, pulling her shoulders and trying to check her over for damage. She saw Yang crouching in front of her, her mouth moving but Ruby couldn't hear anything but the whispers.

The others were obviously growing more worried, but Ruby could see the solution to the problem sticking out of Yang's pocket. Without hesitating, she lunged out for the gem to take it. Yang wasn't able to react to her grab, but as Ruby's fingers closed around the artifact she was able to get a firm hold on Ruby's wrist.

Ruby struggled against her sister as hard as she could, but it soon became clear that Yang was too strong to escape. At least by only pulling. She started to say something, but the whispers continued to drown her out. She thought that she could make out at least one of the words that they were saying, "run".

She couldn't escape from Yang by just pulling on her, so she did something far more radical. She balled her other hand up and brought it smashing into Yang's face. She didn't want to hit Yang, she was her sister, but she hadn't given her much of a choice. Yang recoiled from the blow, and her grip loosened. Ruby knew that this was going to be the best opportunity she was going to get, so she closed her fingers around the gem as tightly as she could and yanked her arm away. She escaped Yang, but Weiss and Blake were both standing ready to catch her.

She looked down at the gem, and a strange otherworldly glint of light shone off of it. It reminded her of an eye. Instantly she felt a kind of energy coming through the gem, like it was returning some of the strength that it had leeched. She felt her aura power up again, and felt her semblance click back into being useable. In a flash, flapping of her hood, and a flurry of rose pedals, she was gone, zipping across the campus almost too fast for the eye to see. She could feel the energy that the gem was providing her quickly fading, and knew that is she wanted to figure out how to make the whispers stop than she would have to find a place where she wouldn't be interrupted by her teammates.

The last of the power from the gem was used up as she escaped the campus, finding herself in the middle of the street. She got up and staggered out of the street before she was hit by a car and started to walk unsteadily towards an ally. As she entered it and turned the corner out of sight from the street, the voices grew even louder and she started to feel the crystal leeching her aura away again. She held it up in front of her face, tears starting to drop from her face as she practically begged the thing to stop.

Her body fell limp onto the ground and her eyes rolled back in her head. The whispers were so mind-shatteringly loud now that she found herself paralyzed. She lost feeling in her body, and she stopped caring what happened to her. She wished that she still had the strength to throw the thing, to break it into millions of small pieces so that it wouldn't be able to whisper to anyone else. But unfortunate, she didn't, and she slipped away into unconsciousness, dragged down by the dark power in the gem.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing outside of the dust shop that this whole nightmare had started at, the explosion that had destroyed it frozen in mid-blast. She looked up into the sky, and noted with a small hint of amusement the bodies of her friends hanging motionless in the air, surprised and worried looks on their faces. Looked around and saw even a few of the White Fang thugs who had been robbing the shop tossed skyward.

The one thing that she thought would be the most present and obvious, the kid who had been bisected by the explosion, was nowhere to be found. She didn't particularly want to find him, but his absence was unsettling. As she gazed around at the scene frozen in time she noticed a few strange details that were very out of place. Reflections in street windows were impossibly twisted and malformed, and screens that lined the street for advertising displayed nothing but gibberish. A few signs printed above shops were in normal writing, but she still couldn't read them. It was like she had simply lost the ability to read.

A single, hollow footstep bounced off of the tall stone walls that surrounded her, and she turned to see something that she couldn't quite believe. The guy who had been killed, died right in front of her, was standing before her, his arms crossed and an amused smirk across his face. Ruby gasped and jerked back, but he didn't react. After another slightly awkward moment of silence where both individuals just stared at each other, Ruby asked "Where am I? And how are you alive again?"

The kid started to walk towards her slowly, still with a rather unsettling smile. He said "Well, my dear… Ruby, was it? Well Ruby, I regret to inform you that I died a long time ago, far longer before you ever saw me." He shook his head "But that is not important. You have carried out the task I have asked of you, and for that I am grateful, but I regret to inform you that you still must perform this duty for several more days. Two at the most."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as she heard that her job was almost done. If she could carry out the plan that her friends had had to share the burden of the crystal, than maybe she could start recovering from her experience. Something of what she was thinking must have shown on her face, because the guy said "Yes, you are almost free, but unfortunately the damage to your psyche, the nightmares and such, will continue until that time. They are your reaction to what happened to you, and thus not something that can be fixed easily. Because of this, I offer you some small recompense for the services you have given. If you wish, I could…" he waved his hand as he looked for the right word "…burn the experiences that I have forced upon you away. You would still be aware of what had happened, but the flavor, the spirit of the memories will be gone. Reduced to only the basic information, like you had read it instead of experiencing it."

Ruby nodded enthusiastically. A way to get away from the nightmares that had dogged her through her dreams? She would have to be a fool to turn it down. She had no desire to go insane. "How can you do that?" she asked hopefully. The kid gave her another small smile and said "Ah, that would be telling, wouldn't it? I'm afraid that those are secrets that I cannot simply spill."

The entire word seemed to shutter, and Ruby looked around in a panic. The kid's expression changed to one of strain for a second before it faded and his smile returned. "I'm afraid that time is running short, Ruby, so I must make this quick. I can stop the issue from worsening, but you will have to tolerate whatever level of trauma you're at until the gem is collected. Until that, you can rotate the gem among your friends if you like, it won't do much. The rest of the matter will be handled when we come to it."

The world gave another mighty shake, and a few chunks of the paved street fell away into vast chasms that hadn't been there moments earlier. Ruby felt an edge of panic start to work its way into her. The kid didn't say anything else, so she assumed that he was done speaking. As another piece of street startlingly close to her went spinning down into the black void, she said "Wait! Who are you? How can you do all this stuff? Who's going to pick up the crystal? I've got so many questions!"

He didn't seem to care for her desperate questions, ignoring her and turning to walk away. Ruby was about to run after him when the street she was standing on dropped out from under her, and she went dropping back into darkness.

At some point during the fall, things changed. She stopped spiraling through the air, screaming and tumbling head over heels. She was suddenly standing on a sidewalk, Yang holding her shoulders in a firm grip and saying "Wait! Don't leave yet! Who are you?"

Ruby started struggling against her sister's grip, saying "Get off me, what are you doing?" As soon as Yang seemed to realize that it was Ruby again she switched her grip from shaking her shoulders to giving her a rib cracking hug, saying "Oh Ruby, we were so worried that you wouldn't come back!" She seemed to wait several seconds for a response before realizing that the choked gasps were all that her sister could manage while being smothered with so much affection. She removed her arms from their bear trap-like grip and took a step back.

Ruby doubled over, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. It was a difficult task, as Yang had done a very thorough job of nearly suffocating her. When she finally was able to get her breathing under control, she looked to Yang and asked, still gasping "What… did you mean… I wouldn't come back?" as she gasped she looked behind her to find Weiss and Blake standing side by side, watching the scene in front of them unfold. As she looked at them her gaze drifted behind them, falling on a shop that she knew was almost halfway across town from the ally that she had fallen down in.

Weiss was the next one to speak, having noticed what she was looking at. "Maybe you should tell us what happened to you, than we can fill you in on what happened… out here." Ruby was confused at what she meant by the phrase "out here" but decided to ignore it in favor of telling them what had happened to her, explaining why she had done what she did and apologizing profusely for it.

After she was done, the other three girls looked at each other hesitantly before Yang said "Listen, Ruby, I think we need to talk, because you might not believe what happened."

.

Naze withdrew again from the crystal of domination, a wry grin creaking its way across his ancient face. Perhaps possessing the girl had been a bit excessive, but none could deny the effectiveness of his strategy. And besides, he had done nothing "wrong" per se, as long as overpowering a person's soul and forcing his own will on their body wasn't "bad". All he had done was talk with the girl's teammates, asked a few questions and answered a few. Nothing that might compromise his identity, though. He had been very careful to avoid that.

Overall, had had told the three nothing different than he had Ruby, told them that her condition would not improve until the arrival of one who was to take the crystal from them. He had asked a few questions like "what do you do" and "what is a Grimm" and the answers he got didn't particularly surprise him. They were "huntresses", or heroes in training, who sought to destroy the "Creatures of Grimm", things that seemed to have replaced the monsters and demons of his time.

They appeared to be twisted versions of what Naze could only assume had, at some point, been a normal creature. These things had propagated over the majority of the planet, reducing humanity to four major cities, and making the wilds so dangerous that any settlement existing outside of these cities seemed to be quite remarkable. A few of his colleagues more focused on the fine art or deft science of combat had already had run-ins with such creatures, but all seemed to fall without much issue. Morgana had already had her way with several of the corpses, and now several giant armored black undead bears now roughly four times the size of a man and with various spikes and spines all dripping with venom that could curdle blood were wandering around in the jungle outside of the ziggurat.

The other questions that he had asked had all been small things having to do with day-to-day life, asked only to reaffirm things that the shades had already told him. These were things like: what is a scroll, what is a faunus, questions of a very general nature. The question did continue to come up of how he was controlling Ruby, and they had finally irritated him enough that he told them. No specifics, of course, but the general method. Her soul had been weakened inadvertently by contact with Naze's soul, or at least what small part had been being forwarded through the gem. For most creatures this was an incredibly dangerous thing to do, but as a lich his soul was bound to this earth, removing nearly all danger. He hadn't told him that he was a lich, of course, or that he had used his own soul to overpower her, but rather made it sound like he had tricked her somehow.

They had misunderstood, and thought that he was some kind of spirit, and that he was keeping her body as his own. By the time he finished explaining that he had no intent of keeping it, he was done speaking to Ruby and had cut both conversations short. There was no reason he should take the risk that one of them manage to get something to slip from him. And besides, he had better things to do with his time than play poltergeist.

He turned his attention elsewhere in the orb, laying into the new spot with his attention, feeling himself drift into not one, but several crystals of domination, all set in the corpse Daniel had brought back. He had insisted that the boy had died of a heart attack, but the state of the corpses innards had been too in-health for that. Naze's next bet would've been that a swift shovel to the back of the head, but there was no sign of that either. As it stood, nobody in the ziggurat had been able to tell how the boy had died. But there were also few who cared, Naze not being one of them. Azrile had already put the crystals in the body, so he was able to take control. The eyes of the body flicked open, and he found himself on a table with bubbling fluids all around him. He could hear a voice somewhere else in the room muttering to itself, and he knew that Morgana wasn't finished yet. He didn't know much about Morgana's bedside manner, and he didn't want to find out about it.

He withdrew his mind from the corpse and took a step back from the orb. He started to walk through the halls as he held the weathered tome that contained the culmination of his knowledge, passing several other undead on the way, each one giving some gesture of respect as they passed, bows, salutes and various other kinds. He put a hand over the pages, new glyphs burning onto them as he walked.

It was minutes before Naze reached the great forges where Brazen spent his time. He didn't walk into the forges, the sheer heat of the room likely enough to incinerate his body. Those ghouls who spent their eternities working metals had extensive amounts of spells and enchantments put on their corpses to protect them from the molten metal, jumping fire, and pervasive heat that saturated every corner of the forges.

He sent a psychic call through the massive chamber for Blaze, instructing him to report immediately. In seconds, the sound of quick plodding footsteps came quickly across one of the catwalks and in an instant, Blaze was standing at attention with an old fashioned salute, holding something behind his back. Naze addressed Brazen, saying "How is the blade coming, old friend?"

Brazen made a wide sweeping bow, ending in a flourish that brought the blade from behind his back, holding it out for Naze to take. He did, and examined the wicked metal shape. The blade of the sword was roughly five and a half feet long, with small razor-like protrusions near the base of the blade, starting an inch above the cross-guard at the top of the hilt, something that Brazen always enjoyed adding to any weapons he made. He called them simply "gutting spikes" and they were almost like a painter's signature. Every weapon he made had them, and it was a popular practice among those who used weapons made by Brazen to coat them in acid, as they had a propensity of getting stuck in targets and covering them in acid was an excellent way to make them easier to remove without sacrificing any of their impressive damage.

Naze moved on from the spikes, turning his attention to the cutting edge of the blade. It was edged on both sides and almost seemed to cut the very air it occupied. Naze knew that the blade wouldn't dull. Even now, without any enchantment or runic enhancement, this weapon would become something of a constant, a bit like the ones who had forged it.

Naze now turned his attention to the blade as a whole, taking in the structure of the thing. It was a claymore, very obviously meant to be wielded in both hands. The blade itself was broad, about the width of an arm. This was so runes could be easily inscribed on it. The metal that comprised the blade was a dark stygian grey, not quite the onyx black that Naze had almost been expecting. The blade lacked a groove in the middle as many other blades had, but there was no need for such a thing when the metal of the blade was of such unearthly strength.

The cross-guard at the top of the hilt featured an ornate carving of the skull of a beast. Which kind Naze couldn't say, likely something from Brazen's own imagination. Whatever it was, it somewhat resembled a goat, with its horns acting as the cross-guard itself. The design was featured on both sides, and a hole in the design drew Naze's attention. There was a hole that want through the entirety of the design, allowing one to look through it. After a moment of examining the socket, he realized that it was for the domination crystal. After Ruby's experience with the thing he would've preferred it be in a little less obvious position, but other than the possibility of Ruby questioning it he found it quite to his liking.

The hilt of the blade was equally ornate as the rest, small engravings of what looked to Naze like shades zipping through the air above piles of bones. It was about three fists long, obviously for the wieldier to use both. Naze wasn't used to double handed weapons though, much preferring to have a free hand for whatever he needed. He thought Brazen would've remembered this from Naze's other requests for weapons, but everyone was capable of forgetting, even him, as much as he hated to think about it.

The pommel of the sword was relatively simple, not having any discernable function. Nevertheless, there was an ornate carving of a skull design that Naze thought looked suspiciously like his own. Naze took the sword in one hand. Turning away from Brazen, he gave it a few experimental swings.

His own body, the lich body, could wield it one-handed without issue. He made a mental note to speak with Morgana about ensuring that his new body could do the same. He wouldn't say a word to her before she was done with the initial changes, however.

Naze handed the blade back to the blacksmith, nodding his approval. "Another masterwork." he said, being completely genuine in his complement. Brazen bowed, his head twitching, and said "The least I could do for all the years you've given me to perfect my methods."

Naze nodded and turned to leave. Before he left earshot of Brazen, he stopped and said over his shoulder "Make sure that Azrile gets that as soon as possible, and make sure he knows that isn't to fill that socket." Brazen nodded again and turned back to the forges.

Naze continued walking away from the forges, considering what to do next. He himself didn't have much to do, but such was the price of having people who knew more than he did about some things. He considered the benefits far greater than the price of being a bit bored from time to time. Trying to think of something that he could do, he started reviewing recent events his head. His promise to Ruby that he would rid her of the nightmares that had been plaguing her came to mind.

He altered his course to take him to the vast library. He would review tomes relating to magics relating to the mind, and more specifically memory. He had confidence in his ability, but it couldn't do any damage to ensure he knew what he was doing. His mind now lingering on the girl again, the fact that he couldn't simply do what he had proposed irritated him. The amount of power that the one crystal of domination afforded him was not nearly enough for the spell he would need to cast. It wasn't out of any sense of guilt or regret that he wanted to stop the girl from going insane, but more out of a desire to fix any problem he created. He hadn't meant to drive her crazy, so he had to fix it. It was a sense of duty that had gotten him in trouble before, but that he was confident that he could deal with. After he had dealt with Ruby he would continue his search for knowledge under the guise that the new corpse would allow him.

He looked forward to that.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Ok, so,for like 12 hours after the last chapter went up Naze's sword was like four feet he needs to be not running around with a toothpick, so that got fixed. In other news, the guy mentioned in the first chapter who encouraged the start of this is also the one who made Naze not have a scythe and instead have a sword. thanks tyler.

so put a review, all that good stuff everyone asks for, Thanks!

* * *

Naze stood stock-still in the center of a circle of skeletal warriors. Each one had a wickedly sharp weapon, with a variety between them that allowed each one to have a radically different fighting style than the others. Naze tightened his grip on the pommel of the great blade that was now point-first resting on the floor as he felt a rush of air against the back of his neck, indicating a large movement. He focused his energy away from the body that he inhabited and instead on the runes that ran the length of the blade. One rune in particular reacted to his mental touch, and blazed brightly for a brief moment as the power Naze shot through it was shaped into a specific spell and rebounded back into the three crystals of domination that enabled his control over the corpse. Without hesitation, he projected this new spell behind him.

There was a satisfying sound of a blade hitting something harder than itself. Naze withdrew his focus from the runes and put it back into the body, allowing for adequate control again. Able to exercise fine movement coordination again, he raised the blade in one hand and turned to face the aggressor. It was a skeleton in what looked like iron plate armor hanging loosely off of its frame. In its hands were clutched a jagged two-handed sword. It looked like it had been knocked off-balance by the unexpected appearance of a solid magical shield between its blade and its target. Naze knew that it was the opportune time to strike, and acted accordingly.

He dashed towards the undead, blade dragging on the ground behind him as he ran. Then, coming to an abrupt stop within weapons reach, he brought the runeblade arcing up at an angle from behind him. The edge of the blade found its way through a small chink in the warrior's armor between its chest piece and greaves, and the carefully place strike found the skeletal warrior's spine, cleaving it in half and sending small shards of bone flying. Naze would've liked to admire the precision of his strike, but the sound of a heavy boot hitting the floor made it impossible.

He turned to face his new attacker, knowing that attempting a magical defense would leave him open as he switched his focus from control over the body to the projection of magic. Instead he brought the blade up and gripped it with both hands as he turned. The image of another skeleton armored similarly to the last one met his eyes, except that this skeleton was roughly twice the size of a normal man. It wielded a large bastard sword about half its size, and was bringing the sword crashing through the air toward Naze's head.

He reacted with the cold calmness that governed everything he did, bringing his own blade up between him and the blade and focusing on keeping himself as unyielding as possible. The two weapons clashed, and Naze struggled for a moment to hold his body still. Tendons stretched beyond their limit, their functions only to be replaced by the much thicker and more durable fibers that Morgana had transformed most of the musculature of the body into. With the weaker unnecessary muscles gone, Naze knew what the body could be pushed to.

He pushed against the crushing might of his giant opponent, gradually forcing the weapon away from himself. The skeleton seemed to redouble its efforts, and started to force Naze's blade down. For one brief moment Naze believed himself beaten, than he has the crack starting to work its way through where his opponent's blade met the handle by which it was held. A snide smirk worked its way across Naze's face as he noted the uselessness of his enemy's efforts.

The warrior forced Naze's own blade a mere half inch away from his of chest when the worst possible thing happened. Its blade shattered, and the now useless hilt went crashing to the floor. Naze made full use of the opportunity, bringing his own blade above his head and then pulling it back down with the same force used to protect himself. His blade met the skull of his opponent, smashing it completely. The rest of its bones fell to the ground lifelessly. Naze examined his own weapon briefly and, as expected, found no trace of damage.

He turned back to face the rest of the lifeless combatants. None seemed too keen on charging him after the first two fighters had tried it. Seeing that none would attack him first, he dropped his left hand off of the blade and brought it up with his right to point at one of the fighters still making up the circle. The one he chose was armored far lighter than the others, the only things it was wearing that looked like they would stop any real harm being a heavy looking pair of metal gauntlets.

The skeleton stepped forward, and immediately Naze noticed a difference. This skeleton seemed much lighter on its feet than the others, striking a boxing pose and starting to move towards him. Naze regarded the skeleton with a raised eyebrow. It wasn't often that an undead fighter stayed spry even after they died and lost the need to move too much in a fight.

The skeleton took a few more steps forward, but its lack of any real aggressive action told Naze that it was waiting for him to make the first move. He knew that he likely wouldn't be able to land a hit it the skeleton was as fast as it looked. Instead of throwing the first swing, Naze let his control over the body dull and poured the power into the runes that ran along the blade. A few of them started to blaze into life, and a spell started to form. Naze threw the blade in a horizontal slash in front of him, his movement lacking some of the precision that he would've liked. The magic swirling in the runes was released, and a wave of raw kinetic force was thrown from the tip of the blade.

The wave of magic energy shunted its way through the air between the two combatants too quickly for the skeletal fighter to react. When it hit, the skeleton staggered back, the weight of the force too great to simply bear. Naze knew that it was now in a far better position to attack, and instead of shifting his focus back to having more control over his body he activated a different rune on the surface of his blade. He brought the blade to up so that the tip of the sword was pointed at the middle of the skeleton's chest. He would've preferred a more precisely determined point, but he doubted that with his diminished control over the actual body that he could manage a better aim.

He triggered the rune, and immediately the blade jerked forward, almost ripping itself from his grip. His fingers kept their vicelike grip however, and he was pulled along behind the rushing blade. He knew that trying to run along with the blade would only end with him topping over once it stopped, and he doubted that his limited control over the movements of the body would do much to help, so instead he held the body still. Its feet were pulled along the floor quickly, but it stayed upright in a lunging position.

The tip of the great blade punched its way through the center of his opponent's ribcage, but the skeleton moved slightly and prevented the blade from hitting its mark in its spine. Naze swore as he tried to pull the blade out. The shift of focus from magic to movement took a few seconds, and by the time it was done he was being hit with a flurry of metal knuckled punches. His vengeance for the various hits was quick though, and he tore the blade out of the bone, leaving a jagged hole where once a sternum. The loss of the structural support of its ribs meant little to the skeleton, and as the blade was pulled out it was able to keep its footing.

Naze drew the blade back and threw it in a slash that would decimate his enemy if it hit. Unfortunately, the skeleton was still much faster than most, and was able to duck under Naze's swing. He wasn't able to recover from the missed swing in time. The skeleton pulled its arm back and threw a punch with the power of a train. The metal gauntlets folded slightly against Naze's skull, but damage to them was insignificant compared to what it did to the bone it ploughed into. The right cheekbone of the skull was entirely shattered, the eye socket was forced up, crushing the eye, and pushing the jawbone out of its proper place. Naze considered what would be left of his skull if Morgana hadn't already worked her magic on the body. It wasn't a pleasant thought. Naze knew that he would have to try something other than simple swinging. Magic had worked far better, so he started to shift his focus again. In the time that it took for the switch from physical focus to mental, the skeleton delivered several more bone crushing blows to his ribs and arm.

Once Naze had his focus on magic he knew that the skeleton wouldn't last long. The runes along the side of his blade lit up, and be brought it up with a limp, broken arm. With the amount of energy going through the crystals of domination that was focused on magic, controlling the body was now more like pulling the strings on a puppet than moving any specific muscles. This hardly mattered though, the power building in the blade as the runes lit up one by one would be more than enough to destroy his opponent.

His opponent seemed to realize this too, backing away and striking a more defensive stance. Naze knew this wouldn't help. He raised the sword over his head, and brought it smashing down into the ground. The skeleton was nowhere near in range of the blade, but it wasn't the sword that was going to do the damage. The initial impact of the blade shattered the hard tiles of the floor, and small sparks of various magics flew from the metal. It was a few seconds before the magic was successfully channeled out of the blade and rushed out towards the skeleton.

There was a brief flash of light before a deafening roar rattled through the halls, and the explosion that followed was far more than enough to blast every tract that his opponent ever existed off of the face of the earth. A few loose stones and flecks of ash hit against him as the dust started to settle. A smile worked its way across the twisted remnant of Naze's face, and he shrugged saying in a wet voice "A bit overkill, perhaps, but quite satisfying nonetheless."

He looked down at himself. His arm was broken in several spots, there was undoubtedly large amounts of damage to his face and ribs, but other than that he thought that the trial had gone fairly well. He clumsily plunged the end of the blade into the ground and put his arms on it. He started to put his energy towards a rune burned onto the back of the body. It activated, and all power going through the crystals of domination started to go towards the spell in the rune. He fell limp onto the floor, and the body started to repair itself. Bones popped back into place and melded back together.

Naze stood, the body now healed, and flexed his hands out in front of him to ensure they were still working. He smiled to himself. If this body couldn't hold a place in this new world, than perhaps he would just have to go out himself and conduct his business. He pulled the blade from its place in the ground. It was time to go and tend to the damage he had caused Ruby, than he could finally resume his mission of assessing the new world.

.

The structure of Beacon Academy was impressive. The massive structure had obviously had huge amounts of resources devoted to it, a show as to how important the people it trained were. The Huntsmen or Huntresses who fought the creatures of Grimm. Defenders of everything that humanity held near and dear to its heart. Essentially, it seemed, the most important people who received a formal education. It appeared to Naze that they had almost entirely replaced the ragtag heroes of his time. Now there were standards and tests, schools and teachers. A far cry from the bight eyed underequipped teens who either died quickly or became famous warriors.

Naze shook his head. Now was no time to be so sentimental. The shade who had been leading him through the moonlit darkness beckoned for him to continue following. He did, and soon enough found himself led to a building to the side of the main structure. If Naze had to guess he would've said that it was a dormitory. The shade melted through the door, but when Naze went to follow he found the door solidly locked.

He tried to turn the doorknob several more times, but each time he tried it stuck stubbornly shut. He took a step back from the door and cast his gaze towards the rest of the building. Windows lined the outside, and he wondered if the room that Ruby was in had a window. If so, he could find a way up and enter that way. A little unceremonious perhaps, but more than enough to get him in. the trusty shade that had led him thus far returned through the door and gave him a blank look. The shade couldn't make any physical manifestation, so asking it to unlock the door would be useless. Instead Naze instructed it to go to Ruby's room and indicate it to the outside. It turned silently and stalked back through the door.

Several moments later Naze looked up to see a shadowy hand protruding from a window on the side of the building. It was on the third floor, and the only thing that looked like it might offer an easy route to it was a tree with branches that looked just a bit too thin to support him.

He considered breaking the door down and proceeding that way, but that would have consequences further than he wanted to deal with. With a sigh, he determined that the tree was his only viable option. He walked over and started to climb, the thick chords that had replaced muscles making the climb exceedingly easy, and the limbs of the tree bowing under the weight of both him and his sword doing an equally good job of making the climb difficult. In the end it took about a minute and a half for Naze to pull himself up through the limbs and reach a point that might allow him to reach a very small ledge just outside the window the shade's arm hung out of.

With one final jump, Naze launched himself from the tree and grabbed ahold of the ledge. The shade inside pulled its arm back in, and Naze managed to pull himself up so he was standing on the ledge. Almost as soon as he got himself up, a muffled scream seeped through the glass and grabbed Naze's attention.

A sudden commotion broke out inside of the room. Naze was quick to move out of the direct line of sight from inside the room, wanting to observe what had just happened rather than interrupt it.

The small shape that Nathan assumed to be Ruby tumbled over the side of a bunk bed and hit the floor. The other three girls in the room got up from their beds and went to the girl who had fallen. The largest looking one, who had bright yellow hair, got down on her knees and pulled Ruby into a hug. It was all the others could do to look on with concerned expressions. The yellow haired girl was whispering something to Ruby, but whatever it was didn't have enough volume to penetrate the glass. Ruby said something back, and held out a hand to the blond. In it Naze saw the unmistakably exact cut gem that was his crystal of domination.

As soon as he saw it, he rapped his knuckles on the window and moved back into view.

.

Ruby, Blake, Yang and Weiss all started as the hollow sound of a knock at the window seemed to cut through the sounds of Yang trying to set Ruby at peace. All of them turned towards the source of the noise and gasp when they saw the shape of a person silhouetted against the moonlight. They all stared, not sure what to do, until the person knocked again.

Weiss was first to react, walking over to the window and grabbing her blade, Myrtenaster, and making to open the window. Behind her, Blake grabbed the Gambol Shroud, ready to use it. Weiss unlatched the lock on the window and pushed it open. The figure stepped into the room without hesitation and said in a bizarrely matter-of-fact voice considering the circumstances "I believe you have something of mine. I'd like it back."

Yang's fist tightened around the stone Ruby had handed her and said "If you want in back than you're going to have to fix my sister first." in as threatening a voice as she could muster. The figure gave a soft chuckle before saying "I'm afraid that won't be possible. I will require the gem first."

The nonchalant nature of his voice started to get under Yang's skin. She was about to reply angrily about him not getting a hand on his precious little rock without first upholding his end of the deal he had made with her sister when the lights in the room flicked on, and she was forced to blink as her eyes readjusted to the new light level. When she was able to focus her vision again, she found herself face to face with someone far more normal looking that she had been picturing in her head.

The boy looked roughly her age, of similar height and slightly more muscular build. Short brown hair covered his head. The thing that drew most of her attention was his eyes. They were glazed over, like he wasn't really focusing on anything, but behind them seemed to burn a fire of some dark intelligence, like he knew a lot of things he wasn't supposed to.

She then saw the great sword on his back. It looked about five and a half feet long, and made of a metal that Yang couldn't identify. Because it was slung across his back she couldn't get a good look at the blade, but it looked like there were numerous strange symbols etched in the sides. She wondered if there was some purpose to them or if they were merely decorative. Over his shoulder she could just see the hilt of the blade, and it made her shutter. It looked like some kind of goat-creature, and had far too much detail for her to be comfortable.

Yang felt a soft touch on her clenched fist and looked down to find Ruby pawing at her hand weakly. When she saw that Yang was looking at her she started to speak hoarsely. Yang was forced to lean closer to hear what her sister was saying, and when she did she heard "Just give it to him." She looked down at her sister doubtfully. She didn't understand the situation, she was still disoriented from her nightmare. If they just gave the thing away they would lose their only leverage.

The boy cleared his throat and said "I'm waiting" a hint of impatience in his voice. Yang growled to herself softly for a moment before setting Ruby's head gently back to the floor and getting up, both fists clenched now. "If you don't fix my sister fight now, I swear that you'll wish you were never born." The rage building behind her voice was barely contained, and she was sure that there was some physical sign that her aura was powering up, readying for a fight.

The boy's only reaction was to raise an eyebrow at her questioningly. Her capacity for kindness and tolerance stretched to its limit, she let out a powerful roar and threw a punch at the boy's face. She heard Weiss and Blake voice some objections, but she didn't care. This bastard had hurt Ruby, damaged her very mind somehow, and now he thought he could tell them what to do? Her fist sped up, the very gem the stranger wanted clutched inside it.

Something in the stranger's eyes shifted, and Yang let out a cry. The power of her aura that had been empowering her fist started to be sucked out of her violently, like someone had put her head in a vacuum. She desperately tried to replace the energy, but for every bit of energy she tried to put back in it seemed that twice the amount was stolen away.

She stumbled and fell, her limbs too heavy to lift. The boy knelt down and removed the gem from her hand. She tried to grab his arm as he pulled away, but she could barely even manage to close her fingers. Her friends quickly tended to her, pulling her back next to Ruby and positioning themselves between them. Weiss and Blake now stood, weapons raised, ready to gut this stranger. He drew his sword, and both girls narrowed their eyes, ready to spot any weaknesses.

Instead of getting into a combat stance however, the stranger brought the blade up in front of him and slid the gem into a socket in the guard, right in the middle of the goat-thing's forehead. It lit up with a strange purple light briefly before the metal around it seemed to react to its presence and tightened slightly, locking the gem in place.

This accomplished, the boy returned his attention to the girls and said "I assure you I've no intent of fighting you." He gestured towards the gem now stuck in his weapon and said "Now I'm ready to help the girl."

He stepped past Weiss and Blake briskly and came to a stop in front of Ruby. The two girls stepped forward and were about to stop him when he planted the tip of his blade firmly in the floor in front of Ruby and closed his eyes, saying "Prop her up, lean her on a wall or something. She needs to be looking at me."

They looked at each other with raised eyebrows than looked to Ruby. Her eyes were half open and she was looking up at them, nodding slowly. Hesitantly they pulled ruby and put her back up against the wall and pointed her head towards him.

.

Naze put his focus into magic, using his sword to support his body's weight while he focused on casting his spell. There was no rune for the spell on his blade, so casting required almost his full attention. A great amount of power went through the crystals that were laid in his body and coalesced in the gem in the sword. Then, as he focused on shaping the spell he cast it out towards Ruby. A beam of concentrated white light emitted from the gem in the blade's hilt. The beam connected with Ruby's forehead, and Naze met with resistance. It wasn't much, but there was just enough to stop him.

It was the same kind of energy that he had drained from the other girl, some kind of outwardly projected soul energy. The only people he had ever known to be able to project themselves in such a manner were paladins and priests, both things that he had not seen heads nor tails of. He didn't miss their presence, they had all been rather stalwartly against the undead, and had a nasty habit of exercising the souls out of those Naze reanimated, even if they had returned to their corpses willingly. It was one of the few ways that one raised by Naze could really be "Killed" again.

That being said, there was much less than those "holy servants" always had. He wondered why the teachings of the Holy Order had been so diminished, assuming that they were still around at all. If Naze had to give them credit for anything, he could safely say that the weaponizing of the human soul was an impressive feat.

Naze cleared his mind. Now was not the time for musings on the past. He pushed harder against her shield, and broke through to her mind. Her thoughts echoed through Naze's head, but he ignored them, instead looking for her memories. He found them after a few moments, but they were jumbled and unorganized. Most peoples were. He flipped through them idly, like someone might through the pages of a book looking for a specific chapter. Much like someone flipping through a book, he couldn't help but peak at them as they rushed by.

From what he could ascertain by his short looks, Ruby's story was one that had been told many times before. She lost her parents at some point, and was raised by some other family member. Her sister was an important part of her life. She wasn't the best in matters concerning other people, but found a sweet refuge and sense in battle. Naze wondered how many heroes through the ages had shared the same experiences. Too many to count, undoubtedly.

He found what he was looking for. Recent memories, far more vivid than the others, and much darker than the rest. They started at their first meeting when he had been rended in half by the explosion at the shop, and continued on in nightmares and daydreams. They were unpleasant to say the least, and resonated so deeply with her that they had started to erode her very soul. If Naze were an evil lich he might've taken advantage of the situation.

He focused on the memories specifically causing her pain and, after one final check that they were the ones he had caused, drained them of all color. They dulled, mental images became blurred impressions, and the essence of the moments was all gone.

Naze withdrew from her mind and focused on moving his body again. His eyes flicked open and he looked down at the girl. She was looking around like she had just woken up, a confused expression on her face. Naze could already tell that her energy was returning with an impressive rapidity.

By this time the one Naze now knew as Yang had recovered from the soul-sapping attack that he felt a bit too proud of. She rushed to her sister's side and pulled her roughly to her feet, saying "Ruby! Are you alright?" she shook her shoulders and spoke loudly. Ruby focused blearily on her sister's face and said "Y-Yang?"

Naze watched the ordeal, a small smile on his face, when cold metal pushed against his throat. The girl with the black hair and bow, Naze was fairly sure he had seen "Blake" in Ruby's mind several times, said "Is she going to be alright, or did you just mess with her some more?" Some small part of Naze hoped that she would slit his throat, just so he could see her face when she saw the lack of blood exiting the wound. But something like that was the entire reason he was here, and had caused him enough trouble already. "I can assure you-" he said with a smirk "-that she is merely disoriented, nothing more. Think of it as coming out of surgery. One cannot be expected to recover so quickly from such a thing." The girl loosened her hold, but didn't let him go.

He smiled again and said "You can let me go now, I wanted to talk a bit anyways. We can do that until Ruby comes around." The other girl he had seen in Ruby's memory, Weiss, gave him a suspicious look. Yang also gave him a suspicious look, but quickly turned back to Ruby and continued to talk to her. The blade left his throat, and he heard the window close behind him. Blake and Weiss walked across from Naze and took a seat on one of the beds, both near Ruby, and indicated for him to do the same on the opposite bed. He conceded and took a seat.

Weiss let out a sigh before pointing to the gem now inlaid in the hilt of his blade and said in a harsh tone "Do you know where we found that thing?" Naze shook his head, feigning ignorance, and said "I was going to ask you about that. Where was it?" Weiss's response was quick. She said "Inside of someone's spine! Would you care to explain how it got there?" The urge to correct her by pointing out that it had been next to the spine was strong, but he resisted. "I haven't the foggiest idea." He replied convincingly enough to fool anyone. "Maybe some maniac got ahold of it somehow."

Weiss looked like this wasn't the answer that she had been expecting and backed off slightly. Blake was more than willing to take her place, however. "Whether you know how it got there or not, you've got some questions to answer." She said in a voice even harsher than Weiss. Naze nodded. A series of lies had been prepared for just such an occasion. "The blade is a family heirloom that was passed through the generations of my family. Nobody knows how it was forged. When my father fell ill and died, the sword came to me. Using the brief training that my father had given me I was able to fight my way out of the wilds and come here. Now I want to learn as much as I can."

Blake now looked taken aback. Her eyes narrowed and she said "You grew up in the wilds? Where? What village?" Naze assumed from her reaction that she had some knowledge of those matters, and decided that it would be best if he had none. "I don't know." He said "My father was the one who kept us safe, and we didn't have any contact with any larger villages or cities. Now I find myself woefully uninformed about everything around me."

Weiss seemed to have recollected her thoughts and asked "how did some crazy person get that gem?" she said, pointing. Naze tried to look slightly abashed and said "I… had to sell a few things when I got here. That was the thing that I got the best price on. I didn't know that it was actually a functional part of the blade until it was too late." He cast his gaze over to Ruby and said "My father always said that the sword knew who it served, though. I doubt it's a coincidence that you're friend found it, it probably wanted to be found."

Weiss's eyes narrowed again, and she said "How did you know that we had it? For that matter, how did you know where to find us?" Naze thought for a brief second before replying "I didn't, the blade did. I really don't know how it works, but I was able to find you with it."

Yang spoke up from Ruby's side, her voice softer and holding a hint of an apology "How did you do the…" her voice trailed off and she nodded her head towards Ruby. Naze shrugged and said "My father always told me that the blade was dangerous, and that it was important to know how to fix the problems it caused."

Yang indicating Ruby seemed to jog the girl out of the lull she had settled into, and she stood shakily, a hand on the wall for support. Yang stood ready to catch her, but not supporting her. Naze could see that she was coming out of the effects that light memory alteration often caused. She took a few jerky uncertain steps towards him before stopping a few feet short and holding out a hand. Naze regarded her with a raised eyebrow before looking around to the other girls in the room. All of them were watching intently, not sure what was going to happen next. He turned his attention back to Ruby and stood. Her eyes followed him, and her hand still stuck out awkwardly. With a puzzled expression, Naze took her hand in his and gave it a few experimental shakes.

This seemed to be what she had been waiting for, as a large smile spread across her face and she said "Thanks, friend!" Yang gave a small laugh and said "Well, it looks like you've got one of us to trust you." in a joking voice.

Ruby gave a wide yawn, and Naze reminded himself that people who were alive needed sleep from time to time. He took a few steps backwards while simultaneously sliding his blade back into its sheath across his back and said "Well, I suppose I should get going. I would like to speak tomorrow, though, If that's alright." Yang gave a nod and said "Sure, I'm certain that all of us would like to talk once we get some sleep."

Naze nodded and turned, opening the window again. As he did this, the soft, still slightly dazed voice of Ruby came, and she said "You want to learn?" Naze turned back to her, confused a moment before realizing she was referencing what he had said to Blake. He nodded, and Ruby said "Why don't you join Beacon? It's the best place you could go if you want to learn!"

Nathan gave her a real enough smile as he continued to open the window. "I'll consider it." he promised as the window popped open and swung out. Ruby gave him a playful wave as he stepped up onto the windowsill. He returned it with a solitary nod of his own before turning his attention to the other girls and said "I look forward to the conversation tomorrow." before stepping out of the window and letting gravity do the rest.

The thick muscle-like things he had Morgana to thank for tensed as he hit the ground and kept walking. He reviewed what had just happened in his mind. Some useful information had been gathered, but more importantly he had met some potential allies. He was sure that they still had a large amount of suspicion towards him, and it wasn't undeserved at all.

He heard the window on the third floor shut, and smiled to himself. Ruby's words kept echoing through his mind. Join Beacon. A strange idea to be sure, but the more he thought about it the more it would make sense. Receive the same education Huntsmen and Huntresses got, and know everything that the most important seeming people knew. Work down from there.

The smile on his face widened, and he thought to himself surrounded by the dark stone of the city about whether or not he would be accepted if he applied tomorrow. If not, he would just have to give them a little example of how exemplary a student he could be.


	5. Chapter 5

It was not long before sunrise when rain started to fall from the roiling sky. Naze didn't care much about the downpour, but his clothes were quick to absorb as much water as they could, and hold onto it jealously. He knew that there was no chance of them drying out by tomorrow unless he found a fire somewhere to warm himself by. The cold that sank its way through to his bones, but his already deceased body cared about as much as his old mind did.

He found his way to a relatively dry alleyway and sat to contemplate what he would do next. Leaning his back against the grey stone wall and casting his gaze up towards the sky, he removed most of his focus from the body and returned to his real body at the ziggurat. Turning away from the orb that he used to command the distant corpse but still keeping a hand on it to maintain some small amount of awareness of the vessel. He called out with his mind, summoning one of his minions to him.

It was several minutes before the one he had called arrived, but when he did Naze was greeted by a somewhat cluttered clash of shiny gold pendants hanging off of a black robe draped heavily over the man's nearly completely hidden body. He bowed formally and said "What can I do for you, master?"

Naze looked to the cloaked undead with a stern glare and said "There is a large city to the west of here, called Vale. I want you to take a caravan of pack beasts and go buy up as much something called "dust" as you can, enough to satisfy the enchanters at least. Take whoever you think you'll need, but keep the fact that you're post mortem clandestine. I'm still not sure how people might react to us yet."

The man snorted from behind his hood and said disdainfully "I'll bet you're planning a real good show for those paladins. I might not be one of you intellectuals or fighters, but if you need me to buy something out from under 'em you know I'm ready to go." Naze nodded, not feeling the need to tell him he had not seen heads or tails of the paladins that had antagonized them in the past. Hale had been a highly skilled merchant in life, but during one of the Holy Orders' more drastic crusades he had been accused of practicing necromancy and promptly executed. Naze always payed special attention to those the Order executed themselves. Those people always seemed more willing to return to their bodies by the powers that they had been forced to believe were unholy.

Hale waved a hand in the air quizzically and asked "So this dust stuff, what is it? You said it was for the enchanters so it's got to be magic or something, right?" Naze shrugged honestly. "Yes. But no one knows where it comes from. It seems to just crop up from the ground like mineral deposits."

Hale turned back to the door and said "I'll be back when I get it." Naze called after him, saying "You may want to take some guards with you. From what I've seen Vale has something of an issue with crime." Hale laughed over his shoulder and said "Good! I'll fit right in!" His response made Naze smile. He had appreciated Hale's amusing outlook on crime. He had always seen it as a resource, like iron or lumber, something to be manipulated or used.

He would've continued his musings, but something from his orb caught his attention. He turned and restored his focus to the vessel far away. He had been pushed flat against the ground, and something was depressing his chest rhythmically. He felt his sternum crack under the pressure, than realized that whoever was doing this had likely seen that he wasn't breathing, and was trying to resuscitate him. His theory seemed more likely as a face swiftly approached his.

He put a hand between his face and the stranger, preventing them from continuing before sitting up and getting a good look at them. It was a girl, orange hair about shoulder length, and strikingly green eyes. She wore a simple blouse with light green overalls, and a black collar with bright green lines on it. She had a concerned expression, her hands hovering over him cautiously. Naze made a conscious effort to start breath and said "I'm fine, thank you for your help." as he started to push himself back up from the ground. The girl stood with him, and said "Are you alright? You weren't breathing!" Her voice sounded strange to him, almost robotic.

Naze nodded and said "Yes, I'm fine. You did a hell of a job waking me up though." Her hand went to her mouth and she looked taken aback. Naze smiled and said "Yes. Most people might not sleep in the gutter, but most people have better places to sleep."

An awkward silence passed between the two before Naze decided that he might be able to use this strange situation to his advantage. "So" he asked "what are you doing prowling the alleys on such a wonderful evening?" The girl tilted her head and said "I was walking down the street, and I saw that you weren't breathing, so I came over to try and help."

Naze nodded and said "Well I appreciate the concern, but it's not necessary." The girls worry faded slightly, but Naze wasn't done. "There is something you could do to help, though. I need someone who knows the layout of this place." Her face perked up and she looked like she was eager to help. Naze smiled and said "The major landmarks here easy enough, but I was looking for something else. Do you think that you could take me to the nearest graveyard?"

He hoped very sincerely that burials had not fallen out of fashion in the time he had been asleep. It would be an awful blow if people had simply started destroying corpses. There were other ways of recruiting those willing or wanting to return from death, but none were quite as easy as restoring a spirit to its body.

The girl seemed to wilt slightly at this. She said "Oh, have you lost someone recently?" His response was a small smile that probably seemed a bit out of place before he said "I'm hoping to find that out. I might have a few friends hidden around there." The words held a joke, and Naze thought it was a shame that only he understood them. Not that it was actually funny, of course, but it was like making a purposely bad pun.

The girl turned and started to walk away, grabbing an umbrella from the ground as she did so. Naze followed her. He wondered if she would turn out to be a student of Beacon, or if she was just some citizen or visitor. He supposed that it didn't matter too much. He took a few steps forward before the girl stopped and looked back at him. He was about to ask what she was doing when she held the umbrella out towards him and motioned for him to join her under it. He did, and the two started to walk.

As they walked, something in the girl's demeanor seemed to change. She looked over to him and said "My name is Penny, it's good to meet you!" while offering the hand that wasn't holding the umbrella out towards him. He took it and shook. He didn't see any reason to lie, so he told her his real name. "I'm Naze, the pleasure is all mine." She gave him a smile and continued to walk.

Naze had noticed something strange when he had shook her hand. It was warm and soft, like a normal persons would be, but there was something strange about it. The subtle movements of her fingers had been accompanied by vibrations that muscles didn't produce. It could've been some kind of fluke, but he doubted it. He ran through what could've caused that, and the list he compiled was quite short. The possibility of it being because of something that had been developed in his absence was likely as he could hardly think of anything that would lead to such an affect. His musings as to the cause of such a minute detail were interrupted when the girl said "So, Naze, what are you doing here in Vale?"

He gave a small shrug and said "I came here out of curiosity mostly, but it's been suggested recently that I join Beacon. I figure that that's really the best option that I've got." Penny gasped excitedly and said "You're joining Beacon? I have friends in Beacon! I'll bet you'll meet them if you get in!" her excitement seemed to turn into curiosity and she asked "How do you plan on getting in? The entrance exam is incredibly difficult, and the year has already started. I don't know if the professor will let you in."

Naze raised an eyebrow. "Really? I'm sure that I can pass any test they give me. I do have an issue with getting in, though. I don't know who runs the school, or how I can get in contact with them. I suppose that could make it difficult to apply. Do you know who runs it?" She nodded and said "Professor Ozpin is currently the headmaster of Beacon. His office is on campus, I'm sure you could find it if you asked around."

Naze nodded, and the familiar look of a wrought metal fence surrounding a large plot of land started to push out through the sheets of rain. His pace quickened as he approached the gates to the graveyard. They were closed, and a large padlock held them stubbornly in place. Naze gave the lock a few experimental shakes and sighed as the lock itself barely moved. It showed no signs of rust or wear, and looked fairly new. He shifted his gaze to the iron fence that wrapped around the land. Large metal spikes sat on top of each individual pole. While he did want to get into that graveyard, it wasn't worth being disemboweled attempting to climb the fence.

Penny's voice came from behind him, saying "Oh, it's closed. Maybe we should come back tomorrow, it should be open by then. In the meantime maybe I could-" her voice was cut off by the loud sound of Naze's blade shattering the lock and cracking the pavement it came to rest on. The metal gate creaked open, and Naze stepped through into the dark yard.

The rain pounded determinately down on him as he made his way to the center of the mass of tombs and crypts. When he came to a large circular area with a few benches, he stopped and thrust his blade through the white pavement with a dull thud. The tip of the sword planted itself as easily as a hot knife in butter. Both hands on the hilt of the blade, he bowed his head and closed his eyes, diverting his power away from physical control over the body. Penny's voice rang out objections and suggestions, but he mostly ignored them. This was just a little more important than worrying about trespassing.

One of the runes near the base of the blade blazed brightly, and an invisible necromantic energy surrounded him. He felt his awareness expand as the souls of the dead inside of the field came into focus. After a few seconds he constructed a projection of his real self, not his puppet body, and started to look around at the spirits.

The graveyard struck him as eerily silent. They usually were filled with spirits, all talking and interacting together, brought together by the common trait of being dead. Graveyards essentially acted as gathering places for the dead who decided to stick around on the plane of the living. This one however, only had a few melancholic looking souls scattered around. Some were sitting atop gravestones, some were laying on the ground flat on their back and watching the rain fall, and some were simply standing in place and gazing around disinterestedly. A few were starting to shake out of their lethargic state, looking at Naze and eventually starting to walk over towards him.

He let out a pulse of necromantic magic that engulfed the entire cemetery and carried the simple command "come". They all reacted immediately, turning towards him and making their way over to him at varying speeds. One of the first ones to reach him, an elderly looking man in about his seventies, said "Who… what are you?" in a half curious, half concerned voice. Naze knew there was no reason to lie to those already dead, so he was absolutely forthcoming, in keeping with his usual rule of how he recruited for his troop of scholars and soldiers.

"I-" he said gesturing to himself as he spoke to the small crowd "-am a lich. I lived a long time ago as a sorcerer, someone who devoted themselves to the study of magic. My field of expertise was necromancy, but I always tried to learn as much as I could from any field. Studying and surrounding myself with the dead and undead brought my constantly looming mortality into the forefront of my mind, and I set about finding a way to ensure that my death wouldn't be the end of my journey. I discovered a way to bind my soul to an object, and I spent thousands of years after that learning and finding those who shared my interest in knowledge. With their permission, I returned their spirits to the physical, and gave them places to continue their study. It was in this way that we continued to learn, and now I have come to make the same offer to you." He shifted his tone to something more likely to get a little sympathy and continued "In spite of all that, we have slept for a very long time, and have fallen out of touch with the world. We need people who can bring us back up to date, and those who might be able to smooth relations between the rest of us and the living." One of the spirits tilted their head questioningly, and Naze spoke to her directly "The living have never been particularly welcoming to the dead. I can't say I blame them either, many undead had malevolent intentions back in the day, but it seems that now there aren't many undead to make a name at all."

The spirits continued to look at him expectantly, and he continued on. "So, if there are any among you who have a passion for learning, who share that same hunger for knowledge that I felt so long ago, and still feel today, than step forward. If you feel no want to increase your understanding of the world around you than return to your graves and resume your slumber."

Most of the spirits turned and walked back to their graves, most talking among themselves now instead of sitting in dismal silence. Only three remained: the man who had asked who Naze was, a woman who looked like she was in her late twenties, and a child that looked about sixteen or seventeen. All of them looked nervous.

Naze addressed the old man first, asking "What is it that you would spend your undeath studying, good sir?" The man started dry washing his hands and shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. "Well… I was a professor at Beacon teaching history, and I thought that I knew all there was to know about it. But if there was a time when…" he indicated Naze with a shaky wave of his hand "…when something like this was possible, than clearly there is much that has gone hidden for far too long." He seemed to steel himself before standing up straighter and saying in a single quick breath "I would seek to look through the veil of time, and uncover all that lays behind it!"

Naze considered for a moment before nodding. "History is important, perhaps even as important as the present. Your insight would be appreciated by those who share similar interests among my colleagues, no doubt." The man let out a relived sigh and mumbled a few thanks before Naze turned his attention to the woman.

He spoke to her the same way he had to the man. "What would you do with your time if you given as much as you needed?" She gave a heavy gulp, in spite of the fact that she didn't have any real reason to. "I don't know if this really counts, but… I design weapons." Her eyes widened and she seemed to catch herself suddenly "I mean, I used to design weapons before I, well, I died."

Naze brought a withered ghost-hand to his chin as he thought. She was correct. Designing weapons wasn't what he would consider a conventional topic of study, but rather more of an art. Nevertheless, it was an art that could easily lead to breakthroughs and developments in other fields. "Artists and craftsmen don't tend to stay among us as long as other kinds of researchers. They start to feel that they have reached their full potential, and that there is nothing left to innovate. When this happens, they typically come to me and ask to be released back into the ether of death to move on." The woman's face fell as she thought that he was denying her, but he was quick to add "I hope that you don't tire of your work too quickly."

The expression of creeping dread was instantly replaced by one of almost pure joy. She made a few muffled noises and seemed to scrunch up before realizing that he was still looking at her and hiding behind her hands. Naze had never seen a person's soul blush, but she had to have come the closest. Naze turned to the young teenager and raised an eyebrow at her, asking "Any what of you? What have you an undying urge to learn?"

The girl crossed her arms and gave him an unimpressed look. He knew that others in his position might have taken offence at this, but he was not so petty and arrogant. The girl waited a moment before saying "Dust. No one knows where it came from, or why it does what it does, but everyone uses it. I tried to find the answers, and died trying. I guess having a do-over would be really nice."

Naze raised an eyebrow again. "If I may ask, how did you die?" The girl's immediate reaction told Naze that he had struck a nerve. Her expression changed from unimpressed to angry, and she seemed to have to bite her tongue to keep from snapping back at him with some snarky comment. Naze shook his head.

"It doesn't matter." He said before turning his focus to the whole trio and saying "There is something I must ask of you before you are restored to the flesh. In the past, undead have risen and sought some personal revenge, or simply to hurt the living. I will not allow such brash actions to paint all undead as monsters again. Instead, I would ask you to swear off any bonds or allegiance that you held during life. The only ally you will have is knowledge, pure and simple. Do you agree?"

The spirits all nodded and confirmed that they did, and Naze smiled. "Good. Now, the matter of what bodies you will inhabit is a problem. We could get our hands on your original bodies, sure, but as I said before, I hope to make us undead appear a little better than we did before, and grave robbing isn't something that gets you into people's social graces. I could have someone just put you in new bodies if that's not something you don't particularly care about, but some people get oddly sentimental with that kind of thing."

They all shook their heads, indicating they didn't care about their bodies. Naze gave a short bow and turned back to his puppet body, saying over his shoulder "Come with me, I'll take you to your new home."

He let the projection dissipate, and set his focus into the crystals of domination set in the body and the blade. He channeled his power through the crystals and wove them together, creating a gateway for his new recruits to travel through. They were hesitant to go, and required some help.

Naze pulled them through, using his immense power to transport them through his crystals and out of his orb of control. They soared around the dark chamber, their bodies replaced by wisplike balls, for several seconds before Naze turned his attention away from the orb altogether and gestured towards the door, shouting "Go, explore your new home! Find some new friends to help you, and leave me to my work!"

He didn't mean to be rude or harsh, but he had work to do. He sent out a mental call to the higher standing ghouls in his service to find the new recruits and show them around before the necromancers outfitted them with new bodies. This complete, he turned back to the orb and resumed control over the puppet.

His eyes flicked open, and he pulled his blade out of the ground. As he replaced it in the large sling across his back he turned to see Penny looking at him with a face of even greater concern than she had had before. When she saw that he was looking at her she seemed to be uplifted immediately, taking a few steps towards him and embracing him in a hug that caught him off-guard. "I'm so glad you're alright!" she cried "I know you said that It was nothing to worry about, but your aura was starting to drain!"

Naze raised an eyebrow, uncertain what she meant by the comment. She saw his puzzled look and said exasperatedly "You weren't even breathing! You were dying!"

Naze gave her a small smile and reached out, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It warms my heart that you are concerned about me, but I assure you it is unnecessary. Things will…" he paused, wondering if it was a good idea to give this girl any more details than he already had. If he wanted to keep him and his undead allies hidden away from the rest of civilization, than he should walk away. But that wasn't what he or his people wanted. Their reaction when he had posed the question of whether or not they wanted to share their knowledge made it clear enough that at least a some wanted to become teachers "…things will become clear soon enough."

Penny very clearly didn't know how to respond. She looked down for a second before replying slowly "Oh… alright." For several more seconds the rain pounding against the ground was the only sound. Penny looked Naze over and said, her voice sounding more empathetic again "You're soaking wet. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Naze looked down at himself. His clothes were indeed sopping, and it looked like they were starting to be damaged by the rain, fabric stretching and tearing under the weight of the water. He looked back up to Penny and shrugged, saying "Some new clothes might be nice."

Penny nodded and took his hand in a grip far firmer than Naze thought someone of her size would be capable of and started to lead him away. He felt the strange whirring feeling beneath her skin again but didn't say anything about it. Considering what she had seen him do and the fact that he had asked her not to say anything about it, he wasn't in any position to ask her anything about her strange traits.

She led him by the hand out of the cemetery and through the streets under her umbrella. He tried several times halfheartedly to remove his hand from her grasp, but her grip proved too unyielding to casually worm his way out of. He was about to ask her where she was taking him when one of the larger buildings in the distance started to push through the heavy rain with bright neon lights trying desperately to bring attention to itself in spite of the downpour. As they drew closer, the neon lights became more pronounced, spelling out the name of the shop and various marketing blurbs that made Naze wish he could vomit. Large window displays showed off a selection of articles and outfits that were nothing in not varied. Many of them were brightly colored, making them things that he wouldn't wear even if the alternative was sticking with his drenched attire.

Penny dragged him inside, and the tired looking clerk behind the cash register gave them a strange look and a tired nod. Penny looked at Naze expectantly before nodding towards the vast selection of clothes. Naze let out a sigh and walked over to the nearest rack, pretending to examine a few pieces.

In reality, he knew what he would get as soon as his foot had touched the floor of the establishment. There was a grey zip-up hoodie in the back right, a pair of jeans by the register, and a plain red long-sleeved shirt on a rack in the middle. He used the time that he bought himself in this manner to think about his new companion. She was strange, like she was just slightly off. There was something about her mannerisms that rubbed him the wrong way. Every word she said was enunciated just a little bit too well, each movement just bit too calculated. He knew that he behaved in a similar way, but at least he knew the reason that he did this. Switching racks, he stole a glance back at the girl. She was watching him, a smile plastered rather unnervingly across her face. Naze resumed examining the rack in front of him.

The thought back to earlier events. She had attempted to help him while he sat in an ally. So she was a Good Samaritan, there was nothing aggressively out of the ordinary there. This did raise the rather interesting question of how she had seen that he wasn't breathing, however. He had been leaning up against a wall at least forty feet from the street, and almost covered in darkness. He supposed that she might just be unnaturally perceptive, but there was more. Now that he gave the matter some thought, he recalled when he had spoken with the spirits at the graveyard. While paying attention to such things, the living's souls usually showed up as well. Penny's had, and he had therefor not paid any mind to it, but it had seemed to be on a different "frequency" than human souls typically were. To his immense knowledge, there was no reason this would occur. And finally there was the vibrating in her fingers. A minor thing, something that Naze was ready and willing to let slide, but in the light of the other things it could be significant.

An idea popped into Naze's head. A little underhanded and devious, he would admit, but an excellent idea nonetheless. He diverted control from two of his crystals and started to work a field of magic around him. Quickly enough, the entire interior of the store was covered. The store clerk's soul burned brightly inside of him, every bit as stubbornly attached to his body by that little link that separated life from death. He turned his attention to Penny, using the clerk as a baseline.

The differences between the two were immediately visible. The man's soul burned with steady fluctuations, his disposition shifting ever so slightly as different thoughts passed through his mind. Penny's soul burned at a perfectly regulated rate, with nearly zero variations at all. Any deviance was quickly returned to the state the rest of the soul was in. Naze noticed another thing that tipped an alarm somewhere in his brain. The link to the body, so clear in the clerk, was almost nowhere to be found. If there was no link between the soul and body than, in theory, it was possible that there was some kind of foreign entity controlling the girl. He dismissed this though, as there was no host soul being repressed, and if the girl was undead Naze would know immediately, even working through the crystals as he was.

His focus narrowed. That was all well and good, but he still didn't have enough information to make an accurate guess as to why the girl was so strange. It was time to test something. Naze stopped breathing and held stock-still. The change in Penny's soul was immediate. The power it burned with spiked immensely for a fraction of a second before settling back to where it had been before. It stayed like that for several seconds before it began to rise gradually. Naze recognized the state her soul was in now, he had seen it often enough. She was worried, and was growing more so with each passing moment. Naze could've stopped, he was now already convinced that somehow this girl's soul had been tampered with, either by herself or some other party. But he still didn't know what she was; human, some other kind of creature, or even if she was truly alive.

Her soul seemed to reach some kind of maximum, and idled at the point it was at before starting to shoot up at almost twice the speed. It seemed that she had reached some kind of plateau, and pushed through it.

She grew more and more concerned, until she started walking over to Naze and tapped him on the shoulder. "Naze? Are you alright?" she paused, waiting to see if he would answer, and Naze did. He turned to her, his eyes now baring into her like knives, a cold void sitting resolutely behind his eyes that hadn't been there before. She opened her mouth, about to ask what he was doing, when he reached out with inhuman speed and grabbed her wrist, fingers closing in a grip strong enough to crack bone. Then, as soon as he had grabbed her, he let go, the slightly freighting look in his eyes now gone.

Naze knew what bone felt like, he knew every shape, every curve, and every fiber that made up their structure. Whatever was in Penny's arm was not a bone. It had felt almost metallic. There was only one more test that he could think of, and he was hesitant to carry it through because it could very easily be interpreted as an attack. That being said, there wouldn't be much of a way to trace it back to him. As long as he was careful he wouldn't hurt the girl.

He focused almost his full attention on her and, putting a hand on her shoulder again, started to leech her soul's energy away. The ever-present thrum that filled her body seemed to intensify and, to his surprise, her soul faltered only momentarily before it resumed its steady climb. He let his hand fall and said "Wait here" flatly before going and gathering the articles of clothing he had selected earlier. He put them on the counter, fished a few coins of gold out of a pocket and tossed them on top of them. The clerk gave him a disbelieving look before gulping and proceeding to check the items out. After he was done Naze took the clothes into a changing room near the back of the store. When he exited he was wearing them. His old clothes lay in a wet pile in the changing room.

He walked past Penny, motioning for her to follow. She did, calling "Naze, wait! What's the matter?" As he reached the door he stopped and waited for Penny's umbrella. She held it up, and the pair walked out of the clothing shop, Penny eyeing Naze nervously. When he thought that they had reached an adequate distance, Naze turned on his heel and said "You are a damned golem, aren't you?"

The look of confusion that crossed Penny's face told Naze that she didn't know what that was, so he clarified. "A construct, you weren't born, you were built." The mixture of shock and horror that came across Penny's face was greatly amusing to that side of Naze that he tried to keep on a leash.

She took a few cautionary steps back and said "How do you know that?" Naze grinned and spread his arms casually "Knowing things is all I really want to do. So, now that I know your little secret, would you tell me a little more?" Penny got very skittish now, avoiding his gaze and trying to drop behind him. Naze took this as a yes and asked the one question that burned foremost in his mind. "That isn't a normal soul inside you. Most golems run using the souls of other creatures to provide power and mind, but not you. Your soul is… well, for lack of a better word, it's bizarre. It's far too regulated to be something natural."

Penny's gaze shifted from him to the ground a few times before she let out a sigh and said "I'm the first person capable of generating an artificial aura. I… I don't know what a golem is." Naze continued to examine her and asked "Who built you? How did they do it? How-" he saw the look on her face and stopped. There was no need to push her. There were other ways of getting such information.

Penny looked down and seemed to be considering something hard. Naze asked "What are you thinking about?" she gave him a hesitant look before bursting out "What about you? You weren't breathing! You don't have a pulse! You aren't even generating any body heat! By every medical sense you should be dead!"

A smile came across Naze's face, and he looked up to see the rain hitting the top of the umbrella. "Oh Penny" he said in an amused voice "you don't know how right you are." The weight of the situation hit him, not from his perspective, but from Penny's. She had likely gone to great lengths to conceal her strange condition, and he had cut through the charade easily. It seemed only fair that she know about him. It might put him and his people at slight risk, but if she could keep herself a secret than she should have no trouble keeping his secret.

He thought briefly on how exactly to tell her before starting, saying "Do you believe in zombies, Penny?" She stopped, and fixed Naze with a startled gaze. "Are you really a zombie?" she asked in an incredulous tone. Naze smiled and shook his head, saying "No, but I am undead. There's a difference, you know? Zombies are mindless things, usually made by someone who knows a little something about necromancy."

She gave Naze another disbelieving look and leaned towards him, seeming to take in every detail she could about him. "How are you able to function? I can tell that you are dead, but from what I can tell you shouldn't be able to do anything. None of your vital systems are functioning!" This elicited another small smirk from Naze, who responded "You didn't tell me your secrets, so I'm afraid I can't share mine."

Penny seemed to accept this. After a few seconds her eyes widened and she turned to Naze with a look that seemed to be more excited than anything else. She said "You… you trusted me to tell me that, right?" Naze nodded, and she smiled "Does this mean that we're friends?"

Naze smiled amusedly. He had never met an automaton that asked him if they were friends. He got the feeling that there would come a time when every ally he could make would be important very soon. The more people who had positive experience with undead, the better. The last thing he needed was another Order of the Holy Light. He nodded. "We trespassed on a cemetery, you took me shopping, I found out you are a golem, you found out I am dead, I think friend might be just a bit of an understatement."

A wide smile spread across Penny's face, and she seemed like she was barely able to contain her joy. He had never seen a golem do that either.

The sound of the rain pounding of the paved street and umbrella over them slowed quickly, and stopped over the span of ten seconds. The orange light of the sun started to break over the horizon, indicating the swift reverting of the world back to day. Naze addressed Penny with a softer tone than he usually used when speaking. "Now that we've made a declaration of our friendship, I need some help. Morning is coming, and I would like to talk to Ozpin as soon as possible. Can you show me where I might find him?"

She nodded earnestly and started walking, motioning for him to follow her and saying "Come on!" Naze knew he had found a good ally. People in the past had been quite intolerant towards the undead, so Naze had learned to put a special value on each one who did. As she led him, he considered what she meant on a larger scale.

The humans who still lived had made major strides, clearly, in spite of their lost knowledge of the arcane arts. Naze would have thought it impossible to ever generate an artificial soul, let alone to give it a body and to let it live. It was something of a relief to know that there was still things he didn't know. His undeath hadn't lost its meaning. Not yet. He wondered if he would learn anything interesting at the school. It would, if nothing else, give him a better sense of the culture of this new world. Much could be learned by the way children were treated.

* * *

Ozpin stepped out of the elevator and started to walk towards his office. He had done so more times than he could count, and was understandably confident that it was a trip he would make with his eyes closed. He felt no need to test this theory however, content to keep his eyesight to ensure that he didn't make any unfortunate acquaintance with the walls.

The heels of his shoes clicked on the polished floor and the resulting sound bounced around the hall hollowly. As he walked he tried to think about the various things that had to be decided today; mission assignments, student evaluations, and the rather intriguing matter of the strange book that one of the student teams had brought back from an ancient ruin. Nothing was known about the ruins themselves, not even who originally built them or what they had looked like in their heyday. It was because of this that the book was of particular interest to him. Somehow the dusty old tome had survived while the stone architecture around it had crumbled and withered away.

The students had reported it to be totally incomprehensible, but had nevertheless said that it had served as a source of comfort as they faced off against the huge hoard of Grimm that had been descending on them at the time. He knew that there were those more qualified, people who had made careers out of studying and translating such documents, but he wanted to inspect it first. He knew much about history, and there was a chance that he could identify the origin of the text.

He turned a corner, and his attention was immediately grabbed by a deviance in the normal routine. A dark figure he quickly identified as a child, about the age of a first year student. He know that the boy wasn't a student, though. He knew all the students who attended his school, and this was not one of them. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall, a large looking blade across his back that looked like it had been forged by both a master blacksmith and someone with a flair for small details. The hilt and guard of the blade were carved ornately into the shape of a beasts head, and a crystal of some kind was inlaid in the center of the thing's forehead.

The child's eyes flicked up to him, and he stood, holding out a hand and saying "Professor Ozpin? My name is Naze, I would like to join your academy." Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the child. He looked almost sickly. He took his hand and shook it, saying "Well Naze, the year has already started, and I'm afraid that at this point it would be almost impossible to integrate you in with the rest of the class." He let go of the boy's hand and stepped to the door, picking the keys to his office out of his pocket. "Registration exams will be held later this year, though. I would encourage you to make use of that time. The road to becoming a huntsman is a long and hard one."

The door clicked open, and Ozpin waked inside. The boy didn't move to follow, instead saying "Give me an hour with the material the test will be over, than give me the test. I can do it." Ozpin closed his eyes and let a deep breath out. Turning eager children away was always one of the hardest parts of his job. His thoughts collected, he turned back to face the child and said "It's not that simple, I'm afraid. Even if you pass that exam, you would then have to play catchup with the classes already in progress, and by this point in the year that just simply isn't possible."

The child smirked confidently and folded his arms, saying "Than add that into the test. You don't even have to give me any time on top of the hour." Ozpin took a sip from his coffee mug than put a hand to his forehead, hoping that this child wouldn't be too much of a headache. He tried to refuse again, but the boy's confident gaze seemed to hold something behind it, something that Ozpin had never seen before. He couldn't place it exactly, but there was defiantly something off about the lad. Maybe that something would turn out to be useful in the future. In spite of this oddity, Ozpin knew that even if the boy was able to pass the entrance exam, he would crumble under the weight of the rest. No student, no matter how determined, could glean enough information from only an hour of reading to be able to pass the tests given by the teachers of Beacon. But the least he could give the boy was a chance.

"Very well, I'll have someone gather the required materials."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**

Here we have another chapter. As always guys, leave reviews, I promise I read them  
And if you've got a friend who doesn't have anything better to do, why not share this with them? It will be like a bonding thing.

* * *

Naze didn't need to step into Ozpin's room to know that he had some kind of holy artifact behind that door. It had been singing its deceptively soft songs for as long as he had been sitting. He knew better than to trust the magics of the paladins. He didn't know what kind of artifact it was, but he knew that it would bear the same enchantments that the rest of them did. Memories of spells like turn undead slamming into him and, in some extreme cases, blowing him apart, came to mind. Situations like that had always been preceded by being found out by a powerful paladin. He hadn't seen any so far, but that didn't mean there weren't any.

Ozpin walked into his office, and Naze supposed that he should follow him. He wasn't eager to get anywhere close to something that was designed specifically to destroy things like him. It was true however that the destruction of the body he was in wouldn't cause much more than discomfort.

He walked into the office, and immediately his attention was grabbed by the multitude of slowly turning gears built into the ceiling. It didn't appear at first that they had any real purpose, but the large clock on the other side of the large window on the opposite side of the desk on the far side of the room. His attention was then grabbed by a book sitting in the middle of that desk.

The telltale seal on the cover depicting a pearly white hammer inlaid on a golden yellow circle representing the sun and, more symbolically, the light of their souls. The pearl of the hammer represented the purity of the paladins. Or, at least, the purity that they were supposed to have. In the later years they did, of course, succumb to the slow corrosion that affected all institutions in the mortal world. It was one of the things that he had made a major goal of his, that those he raised for research were calm and more dedicated to their work than anything else.

Ozpin walked over and took a seat behind his desk. He reached for something past the book and, pushing a button, a small tone rang out and a female voice said "Yes?" Ozpin looked back up to Naze and said "Glynda, I'm going to need you to gather up the textbooks used by combat schools nearby. I also need you to bring the textbooks used by first year students as well as the teacher's syllabuses up to this week." There was a moment of silence in the room before the feminine voice replied "Yes sir, I'll have them right away."

Ozpin took his finger off of the button and leaned back, gesturing to a chair on the other side of the desk. "Please, have a seat." he offered. Naze took a few steps forward before he started to feel what he expected. His movements became dulled, and it felt like he was moving through water. The power of the book was obvious, and he hated to think what would happen if he were to let his control over the four crystals of domination. The enchantments on the book would likely not be strong enough to cause any real damage, but he probably wouldn't be able to enter the room.

As he approached the chair the watery and submerged feeling changed to that of clay. Each movement required such a strangely high amount of effort that Naze doubted he would be able to do anything other than sit down. If it were up to him his blade would meet with the book, and there wouldn't be a trace that it ever existed. He wasn't in a situation to do that though, and was forced to endure the debilitating effect of the ancient wards. As he sat down in the chair and removed one crystal away from controlling his body, instead working to find something to negate the anti-undead wards.

Ozpin looked across the desk at him a moment before pulling the book towards him and lifting the cover carefully. Naze could see several lines of text, all written in the old language and style that characterized most of the Order of the Holy Light's writings, written in the old common language that had been known as "Thelasian" a language that if not for the Order probably would've been replaced quickly. But, as the stubborn, close-minded paladins would have it, it continued to be used for hundreds of years.

Ozpin flipped through several pages with a critical eye, obviously looking for some kind of identifying marks and not reading the text itself. Naze took this as a sign that Thelasian had at some point along the line become a dead language. At the time when he and his fellows had gone to sleep it was well on its way, only being used by the higher ups in the Order to read from their more sacred texts. That made this book very old, and very rare.

"So" he said, looking up from the faded pages "I'm afraid that if you want to apply to my school you'll need to give me some personal information." Naze had supposed that this would have to come. It would be foolish of the man to admit a student he knew nothing about. Naze smiled and sat back in his chair, spreading his arms and saying "Ask away."

Ozpin gave him a wry smile and said "I know not many students enjoy this, but most students have some kind of past transcripts that they can give us. Most don't just walk in in the middle of the school year." Naze nodded and said "I understand. I don't know what to tell you, though. My name is Naze. I grew up in a small village in the middle of nowhere where my father protected us from the Grimm. I lived like that for years, until my father came up against a Grimm he just couldn't beat. It killed him pretty quick and started going for my mom. I was able to get my father's sword, but by the time I got to her I was too late. I finished the Grimm off with my dad's sword, but it wrecked up my house and destroyed more or less everything. I didn't have anything left to stay for, so I left."

Ozpin gave him a sympathetic look over the rims of his glasses and said "I'm sorry to hear that." Naze nodded, the flatness of his voice as he had spun the lie just occurring to him as something a normal person probably wouldn't have. It was a bit late to put any emotion in his voice, though, and he preferred to cut that unnecessary step out anyways. He shook his head and said "Don't be. People die all the time. I doubt my father was very deserving of pity anyways." At least not everything he said was a lie.

There was a somewhat uncomfortable silence between the two for several moments before the door behind them opened and clacking footsteps echoed through the room. Naze turned in his chair and saw a large pile of books floating towards him, a woman walking behind them seeming to hold them aloft with a riding crop acting like a wand.

The woman behind them was giving Ozpin a look of puzzlement and curiosity. He seemed to answer this look by standing from his chair and walking out from behind the desk and clapping his hands together, saying "Ah, here they are. Are they all here?" The woman looked over her low sitting glasses and nodded, saying "All textbooks standard of general combat schools as well as all first year textbooks and syllabi."

Ozpin smiled and said "Thank you Glynda, I believe that is all." The woman nodded again and said "Yes sir." before turning and walking out. Naze noted her short purple cape about waist length with several arrow shapes that looked like they had been ripped into it. The rest of her outfit looked fairly simple, a dress and white shirt.

The books dropped to the floor gently, and Ozpin gave Naze a small smile as he retook his seat. "Are you still as confident as you were?" Naze nodded cockily and said "Even more so."

The crystal that he had allocated to finding a counter to the irritating magic of the holy book in front of him thrummed as it lighted upon the magic to counter it. Unfortunately however, he wouldn't be able to silence the ward at a distance, the ward was too powerful for that. If he wanted to kill the ward he would have to touch the book itself. He thought it would be a bit too suspicious if he simply lunged across the table to lay a hand on its cover, and doubted that he would even be able to force his way through the barrier it created. Something a bit more subversive would do nicely, though.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing to the pearly and gold book with faded and yellowed pages. Ozpin raised an eyebrow and looked towards the book. With a small shake of his head, he said "I don't know. I thought that perhaps I would be able to see something that others had overlooked in its examination, but I must admit that I have not." Naze nodded, then said "Could I take a look at it?" doing his best hopeful voice. Ozpin looked from him to the book and back again before sighing and saying "So long as you're careful." and lifting it off his desk.

Naze put his hand out towards the book, hoping that Ozpin would simply place it in his hand. As the book came closer it started to repulse him, and by the time it was inches from his hand Naze was forced to use his entire musculature to avoid being thrown from his seat. With one final burst of effort he moved his hand forward half an inch and took hold of the tome with the tips of his fingers. He was quick to flood the tome with the magic that would nullify the ward. He might have been just a bit too eager to kill the paladin magic however, for as he gleefully deadened what he hoped was the last remnant of an old enemy, the gold's sheen and the pearl's luster faded. It was subtle enough to go unnoticed, but the book no longer seemed to shine with a light of its own.

A wave of relief came over Naze in place of the harsh repellant, and he cracked the heavy cover of the book open, now able to use the full range of his body's functions again. The short swipes of ink across the old paper was still legible, and held every bit of unnecessary buzz as he had come to expect from those who wrote it. The words did serve a point though, as much as he hated to admit. The text talked up the abilities of the individual, and their potential to spread light to all those in need, and all manner of other nonsense. But the nonsense was believed, and belief was a powerful thing. Almost by sheer force of will the paladins had been able to summon their holy light from within their souls and level it as both a weapon and a shield. It was one of the great ironies of the human soul that such things could be achieved.

As he flipped through the pages and skimmed over the catechisms, prayers, and blessings, he wondered if there was any modern equivalent. In the beginning of the Holy Order the light was little more than a vague concept, but with a few years and a few hundred converts, the light was not only a quantifiable force, but one that was used by people everywhere to defend themselves from the dead. Naze himself had felt the sting that accompanied it.

He shook his head and started flipping through the pages faster. If he was going to stay trapped in the past, he might as well just have gotten up and left the office. A few pictures grabbed his interest, diagrams of weapons and armor best suited for combating the dead, most of the weapons blunt and the armor heavy. He kept flipping until he reached the end of the book and shut it carefully. He looked up to find Ozpin staring intently at him. Without flinching, Naze handed the book back over to him and asked with genuine curiosity "Where did you find that thing?"

Ozpin took the book and set it back on his desk, not breaking his determined gaze at Naze. He got the feeling that the man was trying to gauge him on something. Then, slowly and deliberately, the man said "Naze, can you read this?" Naze cursed to himself. He must have let some sign show. It was time to dig the pit of lies a little deeper. "Yes. Well… a little bit. My father was teaching me this before he… you know, died." Ozpin gave a small nod and asked "So, what does it say?" Naze shook his head, doing his best to look confused. "I'm not really sure. I think it's some kind of religious… thing. None of it really makes any sense."

The man nodded again before looking to the pile of books again and saying "We can talk about this later, I'm sure that you are eager to prove yourself." He pushed up from the desk and walked over to the pile and taking a paper off of the top. Naze stood from his seat and followed. He was handed the paper and found that it was a sizeable list of chapters, books, and subjects. "This is the material that the general admission test will cover." Another piece of paper was handed to him "And these are what the examinations throughout the year will cover. You will have an hour, as per your request, and I will monitor you the entire time. After that hour elapses you will be administered all of these tests, and if you pass with satisfactory marks, you will have to take a combat examination. Do you understand?"

Naze smirked and nodded. Ozpin raised an eyebrow briefly before saying "Your hour starts now." and walking back to his desk. His words were like a gunshot to Naze, signaling the start of a race that he couldn't lose. He dove ravenously into the pile of books, snatching up and consuming every small piece of knowledge that he could.

The range of topics covered was interesting enough, he jumped from history to social studies to studies done with dust to political relations between the four kingdoms and then back to history. The articles and, indeed, the entire book having to do with dust was woefully insignificant, providing only ratios and effects of different colors, as well as several bland and underdeveloped theories as to why humans were able to trigger dust reactions with their auras. He didn't even bother with the dedicated mathematics books, there was no equation that they could throw at him he wouldn't be able to lash out.

One section of the history book stuck out to him, and held his attention for several minutes longer than everything else. He read about the Faunus, and the discrimination that they had faced throughout nearly what this new world considered its entire history. It seemed to be a typical tale of human bias, but there was one glaring fact that none of the books seemed to pay any mind to. Where had they come from? The island of Menagerie, sure, but new races didn't just spring from the dirt. Especially ones so close on a baseline level to humans. They were, essentially, people with a slight variance in natural offensive physical traits and possible night vision. It sounded more like some kind of genetic tampering with magic. But now wasn't the time for conspiracy theories.

A mere hour later, Naze shut the last book and tossed it unceremoniously onto the rest of the pile of books he had finished. A small timer on Ozpin's desk went off, and he said "Times up." Naze looked up with a smile. "About time." He said, the grin returning to his face. Ozpin beckoned for him to come over to his desk and sit back in the chair he had been in an hour ago. He did, and found a small stack of papers in front of him. A pencil was sitting on top of the pile invitingly. Ozpin gestured towards the pile with a nonchalant wave of a hand and said "You may begin."

Naze picked up the pencil and started to fill out the papers with inhuman speed. Little more than a second was spent on each question, even on answers that required multiple sentence answers. Nevertheless, the tests were laughably easy. He blazed through them, one after the other, until the last one was pushed to the side and he found no other tests to complete.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow and eyed the stack of completed papers before looking back to Naze with a doubtful expression and saying "Is that really all the time you are going to take?" Naze responded with a simple nod, saying "It's all I need."

Ozpin leaned across the desk and took the papers in his hand and, leaning back into his chair, pulled what Naze assumed to be an answer key and held it up to compare the different sheets. His eyes widened slightly as they flicked from one to the other before he took a deep breath and looked back up from the papers. "You say that you have never received any formal education?" he asked, sounding doubtful. Naze shook his head and said "Only what my father told me, and that doesn't really account for much."

Ozpin nodded. "Well, he must have taught you something quite impressive, because I don't think I've seen a score this high in a very long time." Naze nodded. It was as he had expected.

Naze smiled. Ozpin spoke again, saying "Well, you've passed the entrance exam with flying colors. With that out of the way however, you must take a combat test. Most students would take this as a part of team assignment, but with the unusual circumstance of your application, I think that a few bouts with the students will do just as well."

The memory of the girl, Yang, who had tried to hit him last night returned to his head, and he smiled at the prospect of a duel with her. She had seemed eager to fight, but he would rather fight the best student in order to get a feel for how well the children were trained rather than fight the most willing student. He nodded and said "I look forward to it."

Ozpin stood up and said "Very well than, follow Me." as he started to walk towards the door. Naze followed. The two walked to the elevator and took the ride down, neither one saying anything. The sleek metal doors slid open, and the two walked out. As they walked now Ozpin looked over to Naze and said in an almost joking voice "You don't talk much, do you?" He responded by shrugging his shoulders and saying "I've not got much about what's happening."

Ozpin gave a small smirk and said "I don't really blame you. You seem a very logic bound type. I think I appreciate that. Not many people allow themselves to be driven by reason rather than emotion these days." Naze raised an eyebrow and questioned "Really?"

Ozpin nodded and said "Yes. Emotions are powerful things, but they are not good basis for decisions. In a time of such turbulence as this, though, with the White Fang rising in power and stirring up conflicts between Humans and Faunus, as well as the general rise in violent crime, tensions are... understandably high." Naze blinked in surprise. It was refreshing to find someone who seemed to have the same love of reason that he did. "I agree. My father was a very… emotional man, and I have strived to be something better."

There was silence between the two for several moments before Ozpin said "What do you hope to accomplish by becoming a Huntsman? You certainly have demonstrated an impressive aptitude, but you seem to lack the same drive that students typically have. Why do you want to protect people?" Naze's response was slow and deliberate. "I want to help people because I have both the ability and the desire. I want to help because I think it's all I can do. I think that-" his answer simplified itself in his mind, and the result was so true that it would be a crime not to say "-that I haven't got anything better to do."

Ozpin regarded him with a strange gaze before returning his attention to where he was walking. "A noble goal as any, I suppose, if you are dedicated enough." The two turned a corner and walked through a door to find themselves in a large arena like room, with seats filled with students looking down at the woman who had delivered the books earlier. She was looking over at the door, a surprised expression on her face. It looked like they had interrupted a lesson. Ozpin walked to the center of the room and started talking with the woman. Naze followed, casting his gaze idly over the students.

The first one that his gaze lighted on was Ruby, drawn there by the transparent shadow figure of the shade he had ordered to follow her. She looked better, the bags under her eyes mostly gone and her body not seeming as slouched as it had been. Naze was amused to see a smile on her face, and wondered if she blamed him for what had happened to her. It wasn't likely, at least not from what he knew of her. She seemed naive enough to forgive him.

The next person that jumped out at him was because of two things. The first that grabbed his attention was that the girl's hair was such an aggressive shade of yellow that it could probably cause retinal damage if one were to stare at it too long, and the other was the look on her face. She looked like the very sight of Naze was enough to enrage her. He recalled her name being Yang, and made a mental note to smooth things over with her. The more friends he was able to make, the better.

Ozpin and Glynda stopped talking, and Ozpin walked over to a small staircase and made his way up, taking a seat in the student section. Naze noted with amusement that the students immediately near him seemed to get much more nervous. Glynda faced the students again and spoke in a commanding voice "Well, it seems that some rather extraordinary circumstances, we have a new student! However, because he missed examinations at the beginning of the year, he will need to be evaluated now." She turned to Naze and said "You may choose any of the students present to be your partner in the test."

Naze turned his attention back to the audience. The temptation to pick Ruby was strong, but he resisted. There was valuable information he could get from this. "Who is the best fighter here?" he asked Glynda. She gave him an uncertain look before looking briefly over the students and saying "I don't think you should set your sights so high for your first fight." in a scolding voice. Naze paid attention though, and when he had said his request her eyes had gone to one student in particular amongst the crowd. He followed her eyes to a girl in what looked to be some kind of copper or leather armor, and very red hair. A few of the students around her also looked over at her, and Naze concluded that she was probably the most skilled fighter, at least by the rest of the class.

"Her" he said, pointing. Glynda followed his finger and when she reached his conclusion she let out a defeated sigh. "Very well. Miss Nikos, would you come forward please." The girl nodded and made her way down to the arena. When she got there, she walked up to Naze and extended a hand, a smile on her face. "Pyrrha, nice to meet you." Naze nodded and gave her hand a shake, replying "Naze, and I'm sure the pleasure will be mine."

With that, Glynda instructed Pyrrha to the other side of the arena and turned on Naze, asking "Do you know how the dueling system works?" The question struck Naze as rather odd, and he replied "I assume that we hit each other until the match is called to a halt." This response elicited a few laughs from the students, but the teacher scowled. She pointed up to a large screen on the wall and said "You and your opponent's aura will be monitored on those screens. You will duel until one of your auras is weakened to the point of not being able to protect you. At this point, the match will be called, and the participant with the lowest aura will be victorious. Do you understand?"

Naze nodded, finding the aura part a bit strange. Apparently each student was expected to be able to shield themselves using their souls upon entering the academy. Not even the paladins in their heyday had been so rigorous in their training. Glynda walked off the side of the arena floor, and the lights everywhere except directly above them dimmed, creating the illusion of being unobserved.

Pyrrha drew a coppery shield and strange looking sword from behind her back. She stood still after this, not in a ready position. Naze lifted one arm up and drew his runed blade from its sheath, letting the tip of the blade rest against the ground. It felt weightless now, with the addition of the crystal of domination. Most great warriors spoke of their weapons being "extensions of themselves" as if a weapon really was. This was as close as one could get, without forging their very soul into the weapon itself and becoming a death knight.

Glynda's voice rang out from somewhere in the surrounding darkness "Begin!" and there was a brief half-second pause before Pyrrha broke into a charge, her whole body leaning forward to use her momentum to her advantage. Naze watched her come with a bland expression, half tempted to let her hit. It would be amusing to see her face as she thought she did real, possibly fatal damage to him, but he decided against it.

As the girl reached striking distance, Naze raised his blade and stepped forward, positioning his weapon so that any attempt to use her arm holding her sword would result in her arm meeting with the edge of his blade and causing an uncomfortable wound. She realized this, and in response raised her shield in front of her and braced herself so that her arm would bear the brunt of the inevitable collision. Her shield hit the center of Naze's chest, and the entirety of her kinetic force was transferred through the metal and into his sternum. He remembered that it was already cracked by Penny's attempts to help him barely a second before the bone cracked even more, now in danger of splintering completely.

Naze reached up with his free hand and grabbed the disk between them in a grip that would've made a vice jealous. She tried to back up, making a leap back, but Naze's grip proved unbreakable. Deciding that the risk of being his was worth it, he moved his blade from its position, pulling it back for a stab at the girl. She took full advantage and lunged out with her sword at the arm holding the shield. The blade penetrated the skin, but didn't get much further than that. He supposed that he owed that to the disorienting effect of her shield being immobile.

With the power of a jackhammer, his arm show forward, the tip of the blade whistling through the air as it went. Naze sincerely hoped that the girl was strong enough to protect herself from the strike, as if she wasn't than she wouldn't have any real chance of surviving by this point. The blade impacted at about her belly and Naze let go of her shield, allowing her a few seconds of reprieve.

She was able to stay on her feet as she was thrown back, but as soon as her backwards movement faded she fell to one knee and started grasping at her stomach. The sword hadn't broken her aura, but he could tell that it had taken far more than she had been expecting. He glanced over to the screens that he had been told would monitor that, and smiled. Her bar had gone down roughly thirty percent. At this rate, a mere two more hits would finish the fight. He wondered if he had made an error in his selection of an opponent.

He looked back to the girl to find her still trying to catch her breath. Figuring that he had given her more than enough time to recollect herself, he walked towards her, grip on the hilt of his blade tightening slightly.

As he got started to enter striking distance, he let the blade of the weapon fall behind him, intending for a wide overhead arc. He stopped walking and hefted the blade up, than bringing it crashing back down through the air. Something in the girl seemed to change, a shift somewhere deep in her eyes, and she raised her shield over her head, her body snapping quickly into a pose that would give the shield as much support as possible.

The sword and shield met in a collision that Naze had not expected. He had anticipated that she would crumple under the force of the blow, but there was something else strengthening her. A dull black field was surrounding her shield, and an identical one around her hand, which Naze now saw had forgone her sword in favor of bolstering her defense.

He let his attention linger on this for just an instant too long. She tilted her shield slightly to the side, and Naze's great sword slid off and clanged against the floor. Now free, Pyrrha rolled agilely to Naze's side, sweeping his feet out from under him with a kick as she went. He fell to the floor, only just managing to fall on his side so that righting himself would be easier. He underestimated both the speed of the kick and the weight of his fall, and his arm popped out of its socket under the force of both.

He would've assumed this to be the end of her attack, and that she would back off now to give herself a better position for the next engagement. This didn't seem to be her plan however, as she leapt up off of the ground and out of Naze's view. He heard a sound that seemed to indicate she was doing some kind of acrobatics above him only an instant before her heels came crashing down in his back. Vertebrae creaked under her, and a few ribs cracked, but there was not enough structural damage to inhibit his functions significantly. She jumped back off of him, causing a few more ribs to break, and landed some distance away.

Having endured this assault like the corpse he was, Naze got up. He pushed himself into a kneeling position with his good arm before standing and pulling the other arm back into place with an audible popping sound. Pyrrha flinched, and looked like she wanted to apologize, but Naze simply rolled his shoulder, probably making quite a disconcerting scene for someone who had just had their arm dislocated and reset. Clearly he had underestimated the girl.

The sword in Pyrrha's hand started to shift in a strange way, a rod in the center extending out and making it into a spear. She altered her grip on the spear so that she would have a better grip and held her shield readily so that she would be ready for anything he could throw at her. At least so she thought.

Naze shifted his focus towards magic, interested to know how she would adjust to the change. His movements got clumsier, but precision was something that he didn't need by this point. A rune near the tip of the sword flickered brightly before becoming a stable light. He gaze the sword a few experimental swings. It moved fast, almost too fast for a weapon of its size. Every movement was accelerated by one of the more complex spells. Naze smiled as a slightly worried expression worked its way across Pyrrha's face.

He broke into a run towards her, blade leveled at his target. She struck out towards him with the spear before he got in range to hit her himself. The tip of the spear just grazed his chest, but he pivoted so that it didn't cause any real damage. She pulled her spear back and braced her shield again, bracing for the worst.

A flurry of strikes rained down on the piece of metal, sending waves of vibrations through her arm and making it very difficult to keep her guard up. She waited a few seconds for him to show some signs of tiring, but after several seconds her arm couldn't take the stress, and her arm was flung wide, opening her up to attack. The blade hit her in an upwards slash in the center of the chest, knocking her sprawling.

A shocked expression came across her face as she crashed into the floor. Naze could tell that she wasn't used to getting knocked around like this. He glanced over to the screen that displayed the girl's aura and was pleased to see that it had gone down about another thirty percent. One more strike should end the bout.

Pyrrha got back up. The spear in her hands twisted and folded in her hands, and suddenly she was holding a rifle. Naze smiled at the smart decision to stop trying to engage in melee combat. It was coming a bit late, though, as all he needed was one more strike. Feeling confident in his ability to defeat her, perhaps a bit overconfident, he decided to match her range using magic of his own.

She fired several shots at Naze, the hammering of the dust rounds leaving the chamber pushing loudly through the air as the small shells whizzed towards their target. Three of the shots hit, slamming into him and releasing the energy they contained within. They hit in his upper torso, in the chest and shoulder regions. There was a faint sizzling sound as the shots burned small holes into his clothes and started to burn the flesh beneath. This didn't have quite the effect that Pyrrha had hoped it would though, as Naze was completely unfazed.

He let his focus fade away from the physical control and ran through a list of what kind of spells he could use to deal with the girl. There were fire spells, ice spells, or he could strike directly at her aura with a little necromancy and skip the protection it offered entirely. All of this seemed just a bit too flashy though, like he was showboating. He certainly wanted to, there was no doubt about that, but the place of logic in his mind reminded him that he needed to pass for a student. Everything so far could be explained in a way that didn't make it obvious he was undead, he was sure, but using blatant outright magic was probably stepping a bit far.

Spells that were unmistakable for anything but spells outlawed, he let his mind wander back to the short book on dust he had read earlier. It had told of different uses of dust as weaponry, and had said that under certain circumstances it could create a directed shockwave. The rune of force on his blade could do more or less the same, and if he hit her hard enough it could easily knock the rest of Pyrrha's energy out.

The unnecessary control over his body faded and his body language turned more into that of a marionette than an actual person. He drew his blade up and turned it point-down towards the ground. The rune blazed brightly, and he plunged the blade into the floor. A few more shots from Pyrrha's rifle hit him, burning through his clothes and skin and ricocheting off of his sword, but he didn't so much as flinch.

The power in the rune reached what Naze judged to be enough, and he let it explode out. With a dull thump, a blast of force washed over everything in a ninety degree angle in front of him. Pyrrha saw the wave incoming and tried to get out of the way, but failed. She was thrown into the air and flung back, flailing in the air trying to regain control of her flight. Before she could, she slammed into the wall of the room like a ragdoll and fell face down onto the floor.

A loud buzzer went off from somewhere above them, and Glynda's voice rang out "That's enough students!" The lights came back on, and Naze looked up to see almost every student on the edge of their seats. Pyrrha made a small grunting noise as she tried to pick herself up off of the ground, and Naze started walking over to help her. The blade came out of the floor easily enough. His first few steps were clumsy and misplaced, almost making him tumble over, but he was able to regain control before he reached her.

He replaced his blade in its sheath and held a hand out to her. He looked up and took it, breathlessly saying "Thank you." as he helped her back to her feet. Naze smiled and said "You fought well." She nodded tiredly and replied "As did you! I don't think I've ever seen someone fight quite like that." Her eyes drifted from his face to the burn marks left by her shots and the cut on his arm, and she said "Are you alright? Didn't you use your aura to protect yourself?"

His response was a nonchalant shrug. "When I needed to. The rest of the time it's going to something else." Pyrrha raised an eyebrow and looked like she was about to ask him what he meant when Glynda appeared behind him and asked "Are both of you alright?"

Naze nodded, and Pyrrha did the same. She gave Naze a stern look and said "Your performance was impressive, but Professor Ozpin will need time to review and evaluate it. If you stay on campus, you will be informed when he has made a decision." Naze nodded, and she turned to Pyrrha and said "Your efforts were admirable, miss Nikos." She nodded, and Glynda walked off to face the crowd of students again.

As Glynda did this, Naze braced himself to stay upright and started to funnel power into the rune of repair on his back. It lit up, but he was facing the students so none of them saw it. The broken ribs, cracked sternum, minor burns, and even his clothing mended themselves back together. He let control return to movement and gave each repaired spot a few experimental pushes to make sure that they had been fixed properly.

A loud bell rang, and Glynda's voice came over it "I'm afraid that that is all the time we have for today. We will continue this lesson tomorrow."

With that, the students started to vacate the room. Pyrrha looked to Naze and asked "Do you know your way around the campus?" Naze shook his head, and Pyrrha smiled in response. "I and my friends would be glad to show you around."

Before Naze had time to respond Pyrrha was waving over to the students leaving and calling "Jaune, Ren, Nora, come over here!" and started walking towards the door. Three other kids started to approach as they neared the door. One had blond hair, blue eyes, and was wearing light plate armor with a sheathed sword at his side. The next was a tall kid with black hair and a pink streak going down the side. He didn't have any visible weapons or armor, but Naze was more than sure they were there somewhere. The last of Pyrrha's friends was a short girl with red hair and an absentminded smile on her face. What looked to be a grenade launcher was across her back, and with the look on her face Naze couldn't help but wonder if the grenades loaded in it were armed.

Pyrrha gestured to the three and said "This is my team-" she gestured to the blond "-this is Jaune-" to the tall one "-Ren-" to the other girl "-and Nora." They all greeted Naze with smiles and compliments. Pyrrha asked if they would be willing to show him around campus, and they all affirmed that they would be willing.

As they walked out the door into the hallway however, Naze found someone else waiting for him. The four girls from last night, Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss, as well as the dutiful shade, were waiting in the hall across from the door. Ruby was waving to him over the heads of passing students, Weiss and Blake were simply watching him without much inflection, and Yang was glairing him down like a hound would at a small critter just out of reach. Jaune looked from their group to Naze several times before saying "Wait, you know them?" in a puzzled voice.

Naze nodded and said "I told them I would talk with them about some things. We didn't exactly meet under normal conditions." The boy nodded and said "Ah, understandable."

The two groups converged into one, members of one greeting the other and vice versa until Ruby turned to Naze and said "Hey, its… uh… nice to see you again." Naze nodded and replied "For both of us, I'm sure."

Jaune spoke up having taken a position in front of the group and said "So should we get this thing on the move then?" while simultaneously clapping his hands together. Most of the people agreed with him, but Yang waved them forward and said "Go ahead, I want to have a few words with our new friend."

Naze wasn't quite sure he liked the tone she had used for "friend".

The rest of the group agreed, but Ruby seemed to give her sister a pleading look before turning and following her friends. Their company gone, Yang turned to Naze and said in a threatening voice "Do you think that little performance in class intimidated me?" He raised an eyebrow, not sure how to answer. "I don't think… I don't follow-" she cut him off, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him towards her, their noses almost touching. "If you _ever_-" she added emphasis by shaking him around a bit "-touch my sister again, I will make _certain_-" another shake "-that you wish you were _dead_. Got that?"

The threat was earnest enough, but her final choice of words was just a little too much. He laughed, thinking of all the things that he could wittily retort with, but there were so many options that he couldn't chose only one. Instead he chose to not retort. Yang did not find this funny however, and pushed him up against a wall, her corneas turning a deep red, growling "Do you think I'm joking?"

Naze got his laughter under control and said "No, not at all." She continued holding him against the wall, prompting him to sigh and say "Very well, I promise that I won't hurt your sister on purpose under any circumstances. There now, happy?" She gave him a scowl that could wither grass and dropped him, turning to follow the group. Naze followed her, wondering if the rest of her team was going to be as hostile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

I have gotten a lot of great feedback so far, and I would love to get more. If you could tell me what you think so far, what you might like to see, anything like that i would love to see it. Thanks!

* * *

Jaune pointed to some street side store and started talking about something Naze didn't care about. Something about the food being good. Ruby dropped back from the front of the group and fell into line next to Naze, giving him a timid look. After a few seconds of thinking what to say, she asked "Yang wasn't too rough with you, was she? I tried to tell her to lay off of you a bit, but she…" her voice trailed off before she finished "…she's really protective of me."

Naze shook his head and said "No, its fine. You don't need to apologize for her. I understand her worries. I caused some major issues with you, and I fixed them in a way that she couldn't explain. If she feels the need to fight with me over something like that, then I'll be glad to retaliate, but I can promise I won't start anything." Ruby shook her head as he finished speaking and said "No, don't blame yourself for what happened to me! It was an accident, right?" he nodded, and she said "Then there's nothing to worry about." Naze smirked and said in a snarky voice "Your sister is the one to talk to about blame, not me." Ruby let out a tired sigh and dropped her shoulders, saying "I know. That's not going to be easy."

Her eyes drifted over Naze and settled on the sword on his back for a moment before looking back to him and asking "What is that?" Naze hefted the blade up slightly and said "This is a kind of weapon commonly known as a sword." not letting the sarcasm bleed into his voice. Ruby rolled her eyes and said "I know that!" exasperatedly before dropping behind Naze to get a better look at it. "What is it made of?" she asked, tapping the blade lightly and tracing a few of the inscribed runes with a finger.

The girl with white hair and a much paler complexion than the others, Weiss, if he recalled correctly, also dropped back to examine the blade and asked "And how did you do that… thing that helped Ruby?"

Naze knew that they were asking some very sensitive questions. Luckily enough, the books he had read in Ozpin's office had given him enough information to be able to lie more convincingly about things like this. "It's my semblance." He drew the blade from its sheath on his back and held it up, pointing at the crystal of domination. "I can bounce power from myself to this, and back again, and when I have enough power I can use it in a few ways. My father taught me a few things that he said I would need if I wanted to take the blade as mine, and, at the time I thought they were useless. They were things like how to erase a traumatic event from someone's memory, like I did to Ruby, or how I might block myself from feeling physical pain. Like I said, these seemed pretty useless to me at the time, but I've realized why he taught me those things now. I just hope I don't have to use them again anytime soon."

Weiss looked at the runes, and after a few experimental touches said "What is this? It isn't dust, but I saw a few of them light up several times during your fight with Pyrrha." Naze nodded and said "Yes, it isn't dust. They are some kind of symbols that help form power into specific affects. I don't know how they work, and neither did my father."

Ruby asked her question again, bristling slightly at being ignored. "What's it made of?" Naze gave a heavy sigh, trying to make it sound as real as possible, and said "There's a lot about this thing that I don't know. It's an ancient family heirloom, so forgive me if there's a bit of a lack of information on the thing."

Weiss started to move back to the front of the group, and Pyrrha moved back to take her place. She gave Naze a smile and said "That really was a good fight. I don't think I've been knocked around like that for some time. To be honest, I didn't think you would be much of a challenge at first." He smiled at this. He knew he wasn't a particularly imposing figure, but he might've hoped that she wouldn't think he would be an easy win.

The boy dressed in green, and with the pink stripe in his hair, Ren, was the next to ask Naze a question. He moved back to walk beside him, and Naze started to notice that without walking any faster than the others he was steadily making his way to the front of the group. He asked "Do you know anything about your name? It strange, I've never heard it before."

Naze looked up to the sky as he thought briefly on the question. He had a lie already prepared, but found it an intriguing question to apply to himself. Did he know anything about it? Naze. It wasn't a word that held any particular meaning in any language. As far as he knew, his name was just a random sound produced by his mother when she had been asked what his name should be.

Ren was asking because Naze's name didn't mean or allude to a color, in his language or any other. He had read about the cause of this trend. The goal of annihilation of individuality seemed quite a lofty goal, and it was no surprise that the ones who sought it had failed.

"No." he replied. "As far as I know, it doesn't follow the tradition. If I had to guess why, I would say that my father had a general distain for everything that happened in civilization. That's why we lived out in the middle of nowhere. He never really told me anything about how the rest of the world worked." They gave him a few sympathetic looks. From the way he was talking it was clear that his "father" was no longer with them. If he could get a bit of pity out of them, he would take it.

There was a silence in the group as this settled. This silence was interrupted quite abruptly by the short redhead, Nora, who said rather loudly considering the last thing that was said "Is anyone else hungry? I could go for some lunch right about now."

The members of her team gave her somewhat indignant looks, the members of Ruby's team smiled. Naze was glad that she wasn't deterred too much by the talk of someone being dead. It was something he always appreciated when he found it in the living. Most people looked at Naze with questioning looks, and he shrugged, saying "I'm not hungry, but I would gladly accompany you." Nora and Jaune started heading the group, pointing out different restaurants and talking about what kind of food they wanted.

He decided that they had asked him enough questions, and that it was his turn to get a few answers. That was, after all, the whole reason he was here. "Enough about me, what about you? Most people aren't as willing to take a newbie like me under their wing. That gets me a bit curious as to your stories. You-" he said pointing at Pyrrha "-what's your deal? Obviously you're one of the best in the class, but has that… I don't know, taken you anywhere before?"

This question seemed to indicate that he was, in fact, very out of touch with the modern world. Everyone reacted to this, giving him strange looks and looked at each other like they were wordlessly communicating about him already being a lost cause. The most radical of these reactions came from Weiss, who fixed him with a disbelieving gaze and said in a voice mirroring that "Are you serious?" Naze raised an eyebrow and said "Yes… why? Should I know who she is?"

Weiss started to respond, but was cut off when Pyrrha stepped between her and Naze and said "Oh, I've won a few tournaments here and there. Nothing much, really." Naze got the distinct feeling of modesty from her words. Whatever she had done, it was clearly something that distinguished her from the rest. But, if she wanted to downplay it, he wouldn't push.

"What about you?" he asked, looking at Ruby. "Certainly you are more willing to share about your past than her, right?" Ruby rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and said "Well, yea, I suppose. There isn't really that much to tell, really. Yang and I grew up on a small island off the shore of the continent with our dad. I went to Signal Combat School for a while, and then I came here at the beginning of the year." Yang spoke the first time since threatening him. She looked back over her shoulder and, with a combative glare, said "She graduated two years ahead of her class."

Ruby seemed to withdraw a bit, folding her arms and hunching slightly. "Oh, that's… it's no big deal. I'm just like everyone else here, just… just a little bit younger." Naze looked from Yang to Ruby and back again, wondering if she had known that Ruby would react like she did. Yang broke her steely gaze and looked at her sister, a look or regret on her face. She dropped back to walk next to her sister and put an arm around her shoulders, leaning her face near her and whispering apologies. This did seem to perk her up slightly, but she still seemed unhappy.

Naze took a measured look around him during the pause caused by Yang's whisperings. They had walked through a large section of the campus. The cemetery that he and Penny had "visited" during the night was within sight now, and there were two men who looked like they were examining the graves for tampering. Naze wasn't the only one to see this, as Blake pointed and said "What's going on over there?"

The attention of everyone in the group was directed to the fenced off yard, and the groups path started to change towards the cemetery. He didn't have any real aversion to revisiting the scene of his trespassing, it had been far too dark and obscured by the rain for anyone to have seen him, even in a security camera. He hadn't seen any such cameras though, and he was sure that there had been no living witness but Penny. If she could be considered living. He still wasn't sure about that.

The group approached the gate, not entering for fear of disturbing what the two men were doing. Yang knocked her knuckles against the iron bar, producing a strange quavering sound as the vibrations made their way from Yang's hand out across the fence. A few seconds after the wave started quaking its way through the fence Yang called out to the men, calling "Hey! What's going on here?"

The two men looked at each other before one nodded towards the group, indicating that the other one go talk to them. The one who was given this task made a rude gesture to the other before walking over and, with a heavy sigh, said "What can I do for you?" in an irritated voice. Yang peaked past the man at the other one who was kneeling over one of the graves and doing something with the soil on top. "What happened?" she asked.

The man, Naze now assumed a police officer of some kind, shook his head like he was disappointed and said "Someone broke into here last night, and we've got to check all the graves to make sure that we don't have some kind of grave robber on our hands." He shook his head again before saying "Man, I just can't imagine what someone like that's got to be thinking. Something's got to be wrong with them for sure. Messed up in the head or something."

Yang turned back to the group and, after taking a few steps away from the fence and making sure that the officer was walking back to his partner, said "I guess we can be pretty sure it wasn't the White Fang." Naze cocked his head at this, and asked "The White Fang?" in a puzzled voice. He had read about them in the books Ozpin gave him, but the perspective of schoolchildren might be interesting.

Blake was the one to answer this query, speaking up from behind Naze. "The White Fang are a misguided group of Faunus who turn to crime to try and get equality." That statement was enough to make Naze think that she was at very least sympathetic to their cause. Deciding to play with the topic a little, perhaps finding a little more out about Blake in the process. "Don't they kill people?" he asked as innocently as he could, keeping a cold scrutinizing gaze on her, watching for any minute reaction. A single brief expression of anger flashed across her face before being immediately replaced by a carefully crafted mask of neutrality. "Like I said" she responded "they are misguided."

Naze would've laughed if the situation permitted. If being misguided was any valid defense against murder, than millions of years of fighting and dying, genocide and murder that Naze had seen were all merely misunderstandings. He decided to argue the point a little further, replying "Don't they kill a lot of people?"

The angry expression came again, but this time lingered a few seconds, not able to be as easily dispelled as the last time. "So they are very misguided!" Another ingenious argument for the pureness of the civil-rights-group-turned-terrorist. He was about to retort with a question about the law when he stopped himself. Maybe the bitterness and cynicism that accumulated over the millennia were starting to show. Instead, he simply nodded and stepped back from the girl. She didn't look happy.

Pyrrha was the next to speak, apparently trying to unite the two on a point of commonality. "White Fang aside, who could have broken into a graveyard?" Naze looked at her, and was mildly surprised to find that she looked genuinely offended at the notion. No one spoke after that for several seconds, so Naze stated what he thought would be accurate even if it wasn't him who had done it. "Someone who had some business with the dead, I suppose."

Pyrrha shook her head sadly and said "Why couldn't they just leave them in peace?"

The old anger over misconceptions of the most basic facets of death started to rise in Naze's mind, but he resisted the temptation it whispered to him. Nevertheless, those who should've been left in Pyrrha's "peace" were back at the ziggurat, continuing what they hadn't been able to do in life. He provided a peace that they could not get idling around in a graveyard, waiting to fade into the void that awaited all souls.

He closed his eyes and let the feeling dissipate. It wouldn't be entirely fair to expect someone living to understand. He let it go, and opened his eyes again. Nora and Jaune had apparently picked a place that looked good to them, and were asking if there were any objections. They asked Naze if the restaurant was good, and he sold them that he didn't have any objections. The group started following them again, being led into a somewhat dirty looking establishment. It was at the threshold of the establishment that someone tapped on Naze's shoulder. He turned, and found himself facing a man with blasted back green hair and large circular glasses, wearing an untucked white shirt. He looked Naze up and down before asking "Are you the young hopeful for Beacon?"

He nodded, and the man pointed over his shoulder with a thumb, saying "The headmaster sent for you, young lad!" he looked past Naze at the rest the group, saying with a smile "Hello students! I didn't know that you came here! Do you mind if I join you?" The hesitant looks of the rest of the group seemed to suggest that they didn't look forward to the man's company, but that was not Naze's concern now. He gave a small wave as he turned to leave, making his way back to the school. Ruby called out from the group as she was being herded in by the man "Bye Naze, see you later!"

As he walked, making a beeline for the large tower in the distance that served as Ozpin's office. The transition from large group to him being by himself made the silence all the more comforting. Naze withdrew his attention from the body, keeping only enough of it in focus to keep it walking, and turned the rest of his power elsewhere in the orb of domination. Slowly, the vision of the shade lingering in Ozpin's office became his, and he peered around.

Ozpin was sitting behind his desk, examining a small pile of papers that Naze recognized as his tests. Ozpin took a sip from the coffee mug in his hand before standing up and looking out the window behind him. Glynda stepped forward, through the shade's body, causing Naze a small amount of surprise. Without turning around, Ozpin said "It doesn't make sense. You're sure that the systems were functioning correctly?"

Glynda nodded and answered "Yes sir. It would seem that our new student is… without vital signs." Naze cringed when he heard this, cursing his foolishness. At some point they must have had some kind of scanner on him. The most obvious time would be during his fight with Pyrrha. He should have anticipated that. He should have taken measures to prevent his detection. Especially after Penny found out. Glynda continued, asking "Is that possible? How can something be alive without…" her voice trailed off as Ozpin turned back around and took a few steps to his desk. Indicating the papers with a wave of his hand, he said "At least his test scores are good."

Glynda raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Ozpin sighed. "Perfect scores on every test. No one has ever done that." There was a pregnant silence between the two before Glynda asked "You aren't going to let… it… enroll, are you?" Ozpin gave her a mildly surprised look and said "Why not? His scores are perfect, and he has demonstrated exceptional combat prowess. I'd say that qualifies him rather nicely. And besides, do you know anything about the boy? You yourself said that his current state shouldn't be possible, and yet it is. We could learn from him."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but couldn't. After a few more seconds she said "What if he's dangerous? What will you do if he turns out to be a threat?" Ozpin's gaze darkened, and he said than I will deal with him as my Huntsman duty demands." He turned back to the window, gazing out over the city. "But there's no indication that he will be."

The conversation between them quieted and stopped. Naze looked around the room in the silence, examining anything that might've changed in his short absence. Nothing seemed out of the place, so he turned his attention back to the two. He moved over closer to them, the shade's form twisting slightly as he focused more on what it was seeing.

Almost instantly, both individuals reacted, turning their heads in the direction of the shade and casting their eyes around the room suspiciously. This caught Naze's attention, and he focused more, trying to figure out what they were looking at. When he did, their eyes flicked up to the shade, and both snapped into ready stances, ready to fight. The two, shade and living, simply stared at each other for several tension-filled seconds before Ozpin spoke aloud, saying to the woman at his side "What do you suppose that is?"

Glynda's eyes narrowed and she took a few small, cautious steps forward before extending a hand out slowly towards the shade. Its eyes, burning yellow and smoky in consistency, followed the hand, feeding information to Naze the whole while. She hesitated just a half an inch away from the opaque black surface of the shade before reaching just a little bit further and waving the back of her hand through it. There was another pregnant pause as she pulled her hand back and examined it for changes. Finding none, she let her stance fall into a more relaxed state and said "Well, I suppose whatever it is, it doesn't mean to hurt us."

Ozpin nodded in agreement before saying "Though, I must wonder; how long has it been there? And why can we see it now?" Both individuals were clearly not comfortable contemplating these questions. For his part, Naze was also puzzled as to why they could see the shade. It had something to do with his attention being diverted almost entirely to the shade, that much was obvious, but beyond that he wasn't sure. As his gaze fell to the shade some of the magical energy that kept the thing's soul bound to Naze was strengthened, allowing control of it, and it was possible that the increase was detectable by their aura. Again, something rather uncomfortably similar to the abilities the paladins once held. Paladins hadn't been the only ones with this ability of course, but it was something that had made them all the more irritating.

Glynda gave another few waves through the shade's body before saying "Well, it doesn't seem to be a Grimm. What should we do with it?" Ozpin stepped forward and waved his cane through it a few times, testing it for himself before shrugging and leaning forward to examine the shade closer. "I don't know that there is much we can do. We can't touch it, and I would be hesitant to try using aura on anything we know so little about. I think we should wait. It sprang up out of nowhere, perhaps it will return of its own accord."

Naze glanced back to the puppet body and saw that it had almost returned to the tower. Assuming that their ability to see the shade would disappear with his focus, he let the shade go and turned his attention back to his puppet body. He was just outside of the door, pushing it open. After a few clumsy steps reasserting his control over it he was comfortable controlling it again. He hit the button to call the elevator and leaned against the wall, waiting for it to come. While he waited he held a hand up in front of him and cast a small spell of electricity, causing small sparks to dance between his fingers as he thought.

He had been found out by two people now. By no means was this the stealthiest undercover operation he had even done. And, worse still, one of those people had clearly demonstrated that they didn't mind telling others about him, or at least certain others. But was that a bad thing? The bustling necropolis below the ziggurat that housed them would be found out eventually, and when it was it would be quite beneficial to already have a somewhat positive name. If he was going to set that name up, than people would have to know that he was undead.

The elevator door opened with a ding and he walked in, continuing his thoughts. A consensus had not been reached among his comrades. He would've been informed immediately. They usually didn't take this long to reach a common ground on a decision. But it was an important decision. The less rushed the better. Naze's only fear was that the optimum time for the revel would pass before an agreement was reached. If that were to happen than he might have to take matters into his own hands, and run with the consequences. There wasn't anything that they could really do if he decided without them, but he didn't want to do that. To him that was not only seizing power, but abusing it. Something that he had avoided with every fiber of his being. If he started doing that, than there would be nothing to stop him.

The doors slid open again with another ding, and Naze stepped out into Ozpin's office again. He and Glynda were both still standing around the spot the shade had been located. The shade had since moved to the other side of the room, demonstrating that they could no longer see it.

Both looked up at Naze, surprise briefly fliting across their faces before they reordered themselves and moved back to the desk. Ozpin gestured to one of the seats in front of his desk, and Naze sat. Ozpin cleared his throat, and with it all the thoughts of what had just happened. "Naze-" he said, leaning forward on his desk "-if I were to ask you a mildly personal question, would you answer?"

Naze raised an eyebrow and replied "I suppose that would depend on what you asked me, sir." Glynda's expression changed to reflect a bit more annoyance than before, but Ozpin merely nodded. "What are you?" he asked and sat straight up. Naze raised an eyebrow again and said "Sir? I'm not sure I understand the question." With that Ozpin stood up and started walking slowly around his desk. "While you fought with Pyrrha Nikos, you were monitored to be sure that your aura did not drop below safe levels. Also being monitored were your vital signs: pulse, brain activity, body temperature, all for your safety, and all measured by a system with such a large amount of redundancies that it is near inconceivable that an error in the system would register for more than a second." He passed behind Naze and continued talking "Yet, in spite of all of that, not a single reading was detected from you. Do you have any idea how this could be?"

Naze considered his options for a moment. If he admitted to being undead, that would raise questions. He couldn't exactly deny it though, they had fairly solid evidence. He put one leg on his knee and leaned back in the chair. "I suppose that it could be that I have no readable vital signs." Not the most solid thing to say, but it was better than making up another lie about having a semblance. His webs tended to get tangled up enough without adding conflicting lies in the mix.

Ozpin circled back around, now making his way back to his starting point. "Perhaps you could tell me then how it is that you are able to function without those vitals?" Now was when explaining got difficult. Instead of answering his question, he would ask his own. A time honored tactic. "What do you know about death, Professor?" a surprised look came across both Ozpin's and Glynda's face, and they looked at each other in surprise. Naze continued, amused by this response. "Not just the process of dying; the shutdown of the body, I mean real death. You have an aura, what happens to it after you die?"

Ozpin gave him a slightly confused look and asked "So… you're dead?" Before Naze could answer his question, Glynda interrupted, saying "That's preposterous! You can't really expect us to believe that you're-" Ozpin held up a hand to stop her before looking back to Naze and saying "Death has often been regarded as the beginning of a great adventure; the transition from this realm to the next. To answer your question, the aura of the deceased can linger for a short time, but will invariably fade. This fade is believed to be the transition from this world to the next."

Naze shrugged. It wasn't too far off. Closer than most got anyways. "And what is it that you believe lies in this other world?" Naze would find his input interesting. He always did when learning of customs relating to something as resolutely stubborn as death. Ozpin didn't answer at first, a faint smile flickering on his lips before he said "Another adventure." in a confident tone.

A sweet answer, perhaps even poetic, but still not quite correct. The dark void of death that swallowed up the souls of mortals gave them one saving mercy, and that was sleep. Those who allowed themselves to fall into this sleep rarely woke again, forever to drift in nothingness. Naze had been told that it felt very peaceful. He wouldn't know. Binding his soul to the phylactery deep beneath the necropolis he called home took its toll, and were it ever destroyed than so to would his soul. There was no rest for the wicked, he supposed.

He gave a small smirk to Ozpin and shrugged, saying "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." A bit immature? Yes, he answered himself, yes, he could be, but what other defense did he have against the crawling insanity of the many, many years?

Ozpin sighed, and paused before saying "And how is it that you have returned to the land of the living? Surely if you can do it, others can to." Naze shrugged again, this time offering an answer that held no ambiguity. "I don't entirely know. Perhaps the secrets of how to have been forgotten." a more thoughtful look came over his face, and he said "Perhaps I ought to share them. It would make things more interesting, certainly."

Ignoring the last part of Naze's comment, Ozpin asked "And why is it that you want entry into my school? What could one such as yourself hope to gain from all this?" Naze gave the man a doubtful look and answered "Knowledge, of course. What am I to do with myself now, if not learn?" This didn't seem to satisfy Ozpin, and he asked "And when you graduate, what then? Would you fulfil the duties required of a Huntsman, and pursue other knowledge on the side, or would you forgo your duty and dedicate fully to another study?"

Naze saw the trap in the question, and had no doubt that it had been set on purpose. If he answered either way, he would be swearing himself to what he said. In such cases it was better to say nothing at all. "I suppose that depends on what I learn." was all that exited his mouth.

Ozpin sighed and looked down, taking a seat on the edge of his desk. He thought for a few minutes quietly, eyes flicking around rapidly as he considered different possibilities. After a long time of thinking, he looked up and said "You may be allowed to attend my school." Glynda raised her eyebrows and looked at him in surprise "However, because of your late entry you will not be placed on a team, but used as an auxiliary member on missions. You will be assigned a schedule according to that of a first year student, and you will be expected to abide by all the same rules." Naze nodded. All acceptable terms, nothing less than he had expected. Ozpin continued however, saying "In exchange for this provided service, however, information must flow both ways. I assume that you possess a knowledge that we don't, and I expect you to share it in exchange for that which we will provide you."

Naze nodded again. He had hoped to avoid owing anything, but it couldn't be helped. There were many things that he could share with them, but very few that he wanted to on such terms. Ozpin sat in his chair and put his elbows up before saying "I assume that the story about your father, the Grimm, the sword, all of that was made up?" Naze smiled and replied "Naturally." Ozpin nodded and leaned back in his chair before saying "I'm afraid that the exchange will have to begin with you. Think of it as a gesture of goodwill."

Naze cast around the room for inspiration of something he could give them information on. He could lie, of course, but there was simply no need to. His eyes fell to the paladin tome on Ozpin's desk, and he pointed to it. "That book is incredibly old. Older than you think." Ozpin raised an eyebrow, and Naze kept talking. "It is a book written by the paladins, a group devoted almost entirely to destroying things like me."

Glynda asked "Things like you?" in a skeptical tone, and Naze replied "The undead. Individuals returned from the grave. I can't say that I blame them for forming and doing what they did, but I can say I hated them for lying about us."

Both Ozpin and Glynda caught onto what he said, and Ozpin asked "Us? Are there many of you?" Naze shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and responded "I don't know, there could be. You people only have four human cities across the planet, right? With so few people, I suppose anything could be out in the wilderness hiding from you."

Ozpin fixed him with a stern gaze, and Naze saw that there was no getting around it. It was simple yes or no question, however, not requiring any elaboration. "Yes, there are. I'm afraid I couldn't say where though." The two were clearly not happy with this answer, but Ozpin seemed to accept it. He stood from his chair and said "Thank you. I will have a more specific list of questions I would like answered delivered to you. You will be assigned…" his voice trailed off and he started running down a list sitting on the top of his desk "…a dorm on the third floor of building B, room number three forty eight. I'll take it that you'll want some privacy in there for whatever you may need to do as someone of your… unique biology, so I'll provide your scroll with the only authorization to unlock the door." He looked away for a second, pulling up a screen and tapping a few buttons before looking up and asking "Do you have a scroll?"

Naze assumed that he wasn't talking about a rolled piece of paper and shook his head. Ozpin glanced over to Glynda and nodded before turning back to Naze and saying "It will be delivered to your room along with the list." He clapped his hands together softly and asked "Is there anything else to be discussed, or are we finished here?" Without hesitation, Naze responded by indicating the window and saying "A lot of the people out there think less of an entire kind of person because the might have an extra set of ears, or a tail. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence in these modern people. I want the fact that I'm dead to stay between us. If you tell anyone, I'm leaving."

Ozpin nodded "Of course. It is regretful that you lack faith in us. The living, that is. Perhaps, with time, we can restore your belief that we can be accepting." Naze gave him a small, somewhat insincere smile. "Perhaps you can." he said as he stood from his chair.

As he turned and began to walk out of the office, Ozpin spoke out to him, saying "I think we both look forward to this… mutual learning experience, Mr. Naze!"

He snorted as he pushed the button and the elevator doors slid open. "Mr. Naze". There was something very strange about it, rolling around awkwardly in his mouth. He much preferred his real title, Naze the Eternal, but introducing himself as such would likely get him more than a few strange looks. As he hit the button to go to the ground floor, and the doors started sliding shut, the paladin tome on the table started to emanate its peacefully painful songs and light again. He was glad that he had left when he did. He couldn't help but feel that he should've done some permanent damage to it, but it was too late for that.

Instead of dwelling on what he might've done, he let his focus drift to several of the shades in the area. One was still up in Ozpin's office, one was slowly stalking the streets, looking for anything worth watching, and another was following penny through the streets as she seemed to wander aimlessly. The last shade that he fell on was with Ruby's group. They were back in their dorm room, doing what looked to be homework. He felt the twinge of curiosity start nipping at his mind, and offered no resistance.

His focus on the shade increased until it was about the same that it had been when Ozpin and Glynda had seen it. With its power increased, Naze looked around and peered intently at the girls. Each one reacted, but not nearly as much as the two adults had. Each one turned to another and simply exchanged puzzled looks before shrugging their shoulders and going back to their homework. An interesting result. They obviously hadn't worked their auras up to the power that the adults had. He would've expected that to be one of the biggest areas of importance.

Somewhere distant, a bell dinged, and metallic doors slid open. He returned his focus to the puppet body and walked out, now intending to find his room. If he were going to attend like a regular student, he would like to set a few things up. A runed gateway would be convenient if he needed some replacements for damaged gear or something like that, but if someone were to gain access to his room and somehow accidentally activate it, the results would be somewhat disastrous. He would also like a store of Morgana's brews just in case there was some incident that required them. They would be highly toxic though, and wouldn't be worth the trouble of making sure it didn't kill anyone.

It only took a few minutes to find his new room. A piece of paper and a small bag was hanging off the handle. Naze took the paper first, and found smooth inked writing, saying "Enclosed is a list of inquiries I would like answered by the end of the week. You may answer them in any manner you see fit. Also included is your new scroll, please carry it with you from now on." Ozpin's signature sat at the bottom of the paper. Naze crumpled the paper up and shoved it into a pocket, knowing it was of little importance. Next he removed the bag and looked in. The first thing he pulled out was a small handheld device that he assumed to be a scroll. He tapped a button near the bottom of its interface, and the screen lit up with a small holographic display, large white letters reading "Setup". He put it in his other hand and pulled another paper out of the bag. It was folded and sealed tightly with a wax seal over the fold. He inspected the seal first to ensure that it had not been opened by someone other than him before opening it himself. The handwriting inside was the same as the other note, the smooth lettering of Ozpin. It was a list of questions, and with a quick glance over it he saw that they were mostly things that could be answered both truthfully and be uninformative, questions like "how old are you" "how did you return to the earth" and "have you ever met another like you". He tried to turn the handle of the door, but found it locked. Remembering what Ozpin had said about his scroll opening his door, he passed it in front of the handle, which gave a small click in response.

He smiled as the handle turned and the door opened, allowing him in to what would soon be an adequate-enough lair. There were alterations to make, equipment to procure, and other things to set up. He pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and walked into the room, looking for an optimal place he could put a sigil down that would allow things to be transported from the ziggurat to his room.

* * *

Ruby looked up from the assignment that Professor Excalibur had assigned her to Yang, somewhat dreading the conversation they were about to have. She cleared her throat meekly before saying out loud "Hey, Yang?"

Her sister looked up from her scroll with a smile and said "Yea?" Ruby sat up and turned her body towards Yang before asking "What did you… uh… say to Naze today? I heard a little bit of it, and it sounded like you weren't being very nice." Yang continued flicking through her scroll for a second as her smile slowly faded before she looked back up to Ruby and gave her a slightly hurt look. "I'm only trying to protect you." she got up and walked over to her sister's bed, taking a seat next to her. "He did something to you, or at least something he had did something to you. It hurt you. And I'm not going to let something stupid like that hurt you again."

Blake and Weiss looked at each other, knowing that they should stay out of this conversation. Ruby gave her sister a sympathetic look before saying "I get that, but he fixed me! There's nothing wrong with me anymore! I trust him, he seems nice!" Yang looked down to the floor, feeling guilty. Ruby didn't want to hurt her sister's feelings, so she quickly said "I don't expect you to just drop what he did and forget it, but he fixed it to. You've got to give him a chance at least."

Yang sighed heavily, than nodded and put an arm over Ruby's shoulders. "Alright, since you asked nicely, I guess I can give him one more shot. Just be careful, ok? I don't want to think about what I would do if he hurt you again." Blake looked over from her bed and, slightly hesitantly, said "You saw his fight with Pyrrha, right? And remember what happened when you tried to hit him last night? I don't know if there is much you could do." Yang shot her a dirty look, but quickly let it go. She was right. Yang had tried to threaten him, and he had literally laughed in her face. It was going to be awkward, but perhaps she could deal with, and maybe even forgive Naze. She hoped he wouldn't hold her initial behavior over her head.

Than all at once, all four of their scrolls buzzed at once. Ruby reached for hers quickly, and turned the screen towards her. On it was a text message from the central office of the school, reading "A new student has just been accepted into Beacon! They will be assuming a regular schedule. Please extend every courtesy to them and make them feel welcome!" Below that there was another message "Students in building B; room 348 is now occupied, please refrain from intruding in that room."

Ruby looked to Yang with a large smile and said "Maybe we could go and talk to him!" A small feeling of dread sprang up in her chest. She had been hoping to bump into him in a nonchalant way, like walking out of a class or on the street, not going to his room. But Ruby's smile was simply too large to resist. She sighed heavily and stood up, accepting the possibility that she might have to swallow her pride. She looked to Blake and Weiss, hoping that either of them might be willing to go with them, but both were looking very intently at their studies. Whether they were actually dong any work or faking it, Tang couldn't tell.

Ruby stood up and took Yang's hand, leading her out of the room. Once they were out of their room, Ruby looked back at her scroll to see what room had become occupied. "Oh, three forty eight! That's right over here!" she said happily, motioning to the room next to team JNPR's. Yang rolled her eyes and said "Great" in a very unconvincing voice.

Ruby walked closer and noticed that the door was ajar. She turned back to Yang and said "Maybe he's already here?" before turning back to the door. They could both hear light sounds coming from inside, but neither could tell what they were. Ruby pushed the door open from its crack and peaked inside. She kept staring, and that made Yang nervous again. She stepped behind her sister and looked over her shoulder. Naze was standing in the room close to the wall, making wide circular marks on the wall with a piece of white chalk. It looked like he was drawling some kind of mural, with so many different small lines intersecting and crossing that it almost unfocused their eyes to look directly at it. It was made up of what looked like a square, with numerous smaller lines and circles filling its interior. In spite of this complexity, Naze's every movement was solid and steady, like he was used to drawling this immense symbol.

Ruby knocked on the doorframe, and Naze stopped dead. "Uh, do you mind if we talk a little bit?" Ruby asked curiously. Without responding, Naze carefully resumed his slash across the wall, making one more mark added to the already convoluted collection. As the chalk left the wall Yang whispered in Ruby's ear "See? He's weird."

Naze turned to the two, eyes flicking between Ruby and Yang several times before he said "I suppose I've a few minutes." Ruby gave him a smile and said "Good! Go on and tell him Yang." while at the same time pushing her sister ahead of her. Yang gave an angry look over her shoulder before turning back to Naze and brushing her fingers through her hair awkwardly. "Well… I just wanted to… sorry. For how I treated you earlier. That was… kind of a kneejerk reaction on my part. Thanks for not making a big deal about it."

Naze raised an eyebrow. Ruby must've had more influence over her sister than he had originally thought. He doubted that many other people had received such apologies from the girl before. Naze nodded and said "Apology accepted." flatly before turning back to the chalk and making a few more diagonal slash marks. Yang took that as a sign that she was off the hook and turned to leave, only to find Ruby blocking the door. "He's a student here now! You have to get used to him!" She whispered, spreading her arms and grabbing the doorframe so Yang couldn't simply push past her. Yang gave her sister a look, first angry, then pleading "I will get used to him, later!"

Ruby shook her head and nodded towards Naze, saying "At least try and learn something about him!" Yang gave a defeated sigh and turned her back on her sister, frustrated that she wouldn't let her out. The thought didn't escape her that this was essentially the same thing that she herself had done to Ruby when introducing her to Blake. She took a few steps towards him and said "So, uh, What's-" but was cut off as Naze finished another series of quick strikes on the wall and said "Something my father taught me about training the precision of my strikes. You don't particularly want to talk to me alone, I get it. How about I swing by your room in a few minutes?"

Yang was about to state the lack of need for such a generous offer, but Ruby stepped in, saying "We would love that! Just come on over when you're ready!" and giving a small wave. Without looking, Naze waved back with his free hand, and the two girls slipped out, the door clicking shut behind them.

Naze finished the last few strokes, and stepped back to examine his work for flaws. The rune of translocation seemed adequate, but useless as it was. A mirror of it would have to be made back at the ziggurat, than a power source would have to be supplied to both before they could be used, but none of those things would be particularly difficult.

He looked back to the door, wondering how exactly Ruby had gotten her sister to apologize. It couldn't have been easy. Then there was the question of how much that apology would really matter. It had seemed sincere in front of Ruby, but people lied very often. He was sure that Yang was no exception. The possibility did exist that she would follow through, and try to get to know him at some point, but it seemed unlikely.

He also made a mental note to somehow weight the door so that it fell closed by itself. He didn't want any more intrusions into his business. If someone found their way into his room like that again, they could die fairly easily with the kind of things he was planning to have. After a minute spent staring at his creation, he turned and walked towards the door. He had said he would go, so he didn't have much choice. The topic of what they would talk about fluttered through his mind, and he quickly answered it. He would try and learn about classes, and what being an auxiliary on a mission meant. The door closed with a solid click behind him, and he walked across the hall and one door down, knocking firmly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**

Ok, guys, I like to think that I don't really need a lot of motivation to write this, but there were no reviews on the last chapter, and I know people read it. So, not to be a prick or anything, but could you leave a review? Its the only feedback that I can really use to improve.

Thanks.

* * *

"The living have never welcomed us! We have no reason to think they will now!" Attention in the large, dank room shifted to the other debaters, the most recently animated three from Vale, who were arguing the opposite. The history professor was the first to answer, saying "I realize that you may have come from a different time, but I thoroughly believe that people have changed! So long as you reveal yourselves carefully I believe that peace is attainable!"

Naze watched the debate with interest from his raised platform, his gaze over both the debaters and the crowd as the orb of control thrummed lightly in his hand, providing a slight sensory input that he was largely ignoring. Professor Excalibur's class was dull and uninformative at the best of times. He wasn't missing much by distancing himself from it. He would much rather be giving the debate of his own people the majority of his attention than the personal anecdotes of the portly professor. As far as everyone in the classroom was concerned, he was sleeping face down near the back of the room. Other students slept back there all the time, so he was confident that he could continue watching until the bell.

The other debater made a few wild animated gestures before saying "What do you mean by that? Of course if we do it carefully we'll be safe, that applies to everything!" A murmuring went rolling through the crowd of people agreeing. The teacher looked down at his feet, defeated, before looking back up at Naze with a questioning look on his face. Naze could read his feelings through the link that existed between him and all of those risen by his power. He felt confusion. He felt even a little bit of anger. Why would he have been brought back to help the gathering of knowledge if those he would be working with were so stubbornly set in their ways?

Naze gave him a small nod that only he could see. If he thought that, he should use it. He looked back down to his feet, the wheels in his head now turning quickly. The other two recently risen individuals stood slightly behind the history teacher. They looked like they wanted to help him, but he was clearly more experienced in the setting of a debate than they were, and as such was taking more of a forefront in the discussion.

The man nodded to himself as the argument formed into being in his head before stepping forward again and saying more to the crowd than his opponent "I was under the impression that the majority of you were dedicated scholars." The response was an immediate silence that Naze didn't need a link to every single one of them to know was somewhat indignant. His stage now set, the man continued talking "Instead, I find that you harbor grudges and bias, just like everyone else. Science requires an unbiased view. I would encourage you to embrace such a view; that you may gain some allies in your quest for knowledge." Another slow rumbling through the crowd. The teacher's opponent responded with a low, almost angry growl "The countless years of being hounded and fought could, much like a stream or river, wear down the tallest and proudest of mountains. All of us here have had thousands of years to know the inevitable divide the living put between the dead. Perhaps you will learn them to, in time."

The teacher smiled, like his opponent had played right into his hands. "I've studied the records that you've kept through the years, and there seems to be quite a lot of evidence to the contrary. Our leader-" he nodded a head towards Naze in his pulpit "-has made treaties and alliances with living kingdoms before. In most cases the only thing that led to the termination of these agreements was the eventual collapse of the civilization with whom they were made. Although I find it somewhat hard to believe, having lived when I did, humanity has been the dominant species for a vast majority of the planets history. There were times when the wild was dangerous, but rarely have they been an aggressive as they are now. In these periods of struggle, we, the undead have always withdrawn, so that no single empire came out of the struggle on top." He seemed to address the crowd now, and even glanced up at Naze. "What if instead you helped all kingdoms? There are only four now, and I believe firmly that if you were to offer assistance in the fight against the Grimm that much better relations would be had."

Naze considered the proposal. He had tried such things before, perhaps the man had not delved too deeply into their records as he should've. But, nevertheless, there was some merit to what he said. The issue that Naze had often found was that favors such as that were quickly forgotten, replaced by tales of their own heroics. Then, assuming that went well, the kingdoms would start expanding, and eventually start warring each other. He knew well that remaining neutral in a conflict such as that would be impossible without making an enemy of himself.

Someone from the crowd cried out with a question, but a sudden jolt of information from the orb of control distracted him, arresting his attention away from the debate. He focused in on the orb and retook his place in the puppet body lying face down on a table, far away in a classroom.

"-ease wake your slumbering friend, Ms. Nikos?" The professor's deep voice seemed to reverberate off of the walls as Naze's mind settled into its vessel. Pyrrha shook his shoulder and whispered "Wake up. You have to wake up!" His eyes flicked open, and he sat up in his chair, power returning to the crystals of domination. The suddenness of this movement seemed to startle Pyrrha, causing her to gasp as he jerked rigidly up.

Professor Excalibur gave him a disapproving look before saying "I might suggest you pay more attention in class, son. Missions are going to be assigned soon, and it will be your first. I think you'll find that the lessons I teach will be essential to your survival out in the field."

Naze nodded silently, knowing that arguing with the old man would serve no real purpose. It would only make him more likely to get some form of disciplinary punishment. He didn't need that, as it would detract from time he would rather spend either practicing his hobby, inscribing runes onto paper so that the spell could be used only once. He figured that it was a cheap way to get a few more complex spell out without having to spend too much time organizing the spell itself. It was also possible for someone without any experience in magic to use them, although the results would be far less predictable.

Excalibur went back to pointing at some diagram on the chalkboard and talking about some personal story that was barely relatable about his past heroics. Naze was about to withdraw and continue watching the debate when Excalibur shot a furtive glance his way to verify that he was paying attention. He slumped over in his seat and fixed the chalkboard with a bored gaze.

Pyrrha nudged his arm with her elbow and asked "What's wrong?" He looked back at her with a questioning expression. She rolled her eyes like he was being difficult and said "I was trying for ten minutes to wake you up before that. Are you not sleeping well?" Naze's only response was to give a small shrug and look back to the chalkboard. Pyrrha apparently took this as a yes and put a hand on his shoulder, saying "If there's a problem, you know you can ask for help, right? I would be happy to talk to my teammates if we could do anything." Naze shook his head again. She was certainly making it a point to offer assistance to a problem she wasn't even sure existed.

Yang, sitting a row ahead of them, twisted in her seat and said "Yeah, we're your friends, right? What are friends for?" It seemed by the continued look that she was giving him that she expected some response. Luckily for him, Excalibur spoke again from the front of the class, this time sounding much more annoyed. "Excuse me! I am trying to teach a class here, and if you don't want to participate than perhaps you should save yourselves the trouble and take the exit yourselves." He stood silent a moment, arm outstretched towards the door. After a few seconds he said "No? No takers? Than perhaps you ought to be silent and pay attention!"

This did a much better job of shutting them up, and left Naze to continue what he always did in situations where he had nothing better to do. He pulled a black sheet of paper from his pocket and started scribbling a rune on it. The rune was simple, and only took a few minutes to complete, and when he was done he was left with a paper that had a basic rune of fire in the middle. As it was it would do little more than burst into flame once activated, so Naze started to add to it, encircling the rune of fire and adding more intricacies around it. This took longer than the other one, but was still relatively simple. In roughly ten minutes Naze had a paper that would burst into flame and throw itself forward upon being triggered. Slightly more useful, but it wasn't going to be something to turn the tide of a battle.

Pyrrha caught sight of the paper, and it seemed to provide far more entertainment that the teacher did. She watched out of the corner of her eye at first, than simply gave up trying to follow the lesson and directed her full attention to the rune. Naze started to crumple the paper up. The paper didn't need to be flat for the magic to work. Before he was able to wad it up completely Pyrrha put a hand on his arm. She looked at him, than to the teacher, than back at him before settling her gaze on the paper again.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice barely audible, even to Naze. Without speaking, Naze finished crumpling the paper up and held it in his open palm. Pyrrha started to reach for it, but he shook his head and motioned for her to wait. The professor gave another look over the classroom before turning back to the board, and Naze knew that it was the best opportunity he was going to get. He pulsed the small amount of power into it that would activate it, and the paper caught fire and sped out of his hand instantly, soaring over the heads of all the students in front of him and completely incinerating midair, leaving only a small amount of ash to plink weakly against the professor's back and fall to the ground unnoticed.

The sound of stifled laughter came from various places around the room, most noticeably from Pyrrha next to him and Yang ahead of him. This wasn't enough to distract the professor from his continued ranting. Before long, the bell rang and students instantly reacted, practically bolting out of their seats and towards the door. Normally Naze would regard this with some disdain or cynicism about children, but in the case of professor Excalibur he was right alongside those scrabbling to get out. He hurriedly shoved what few supplies he had gotten out back into the small bag he carried before slinging it over his shoulder and walking out of the room and finding something that he was growing increasingly used to.

Two teams, four individuals each, RWBY and JNPR were waiting outside the door for him. He supposed that he should've been grateful they were so willing to take him under their wing. He knew that he wasn't exactly the easiest person to socialize with. In spite of this, they seemed to really want to connect with him. Something he found slightly disconcerting. Yang had even made some fairly blunt attempts at repairing the damage she had caused upon their first formal introduction, offering to help him with anything he needed even more than the others did. Naze hadn't taken her up on the offer, of course, there wasn't much that she could do for him.

As Naze walked out of the room, Yang was the first by his side, putting an arm around his shoulder and leaning some weight onto him. "How did you do that?" she asked, an expression of both amusement and wonder in her eyes. Before he could say anything, Pyrrha spoke, saying "It had something to do with the drawling, I think, didn't it?"

Naze nodded and pulled his bag open, removing another one of the dozens of papers with identical arcane symbols in them and handing it over to Yang. She took it, and all the others looked at it to. Pyrrha smiled and said "That's the same thing that was on the other paper!" There were a few seconds of silence as they examined the patterns before Pyrrha spoke again, saying "Is this exactly the same thing?" Naze nodded, knowing what she meant. The symbol on that paper was the exact same as the last one had been, down to every single measurement. A normal person couldn't do that without some form of assistance like a stencil or model.

He nodded again. Pyrrha motioned for Yang to hand her the paper before taking it and passing it around so that everyone could see. When it came to Ruby she asked "What is it? How do you use it?" while turning it over and examining the paper at every angle. Naze shrugged and said "It's a lot like dust. Just strike out at it with your aura, and-" he was cut off as the paper changed hands to Nora, and ignited immediately on touching her skin, sending it whizzing past Naze's head and reducing it to a pile of ash that fell limply to the ground.

Everyone but Naze jerked at this, and Nora's hands went to her mouth as she realized what had just happened. The gaze of the group collectively shifted slowly to stare at her, and she said "What? It was a lot more touchy that I thought it would be." in a defensive tone. Naze stuck up for her on this point, saying "She's right, they are rather hair-trigger." The group slowly continued walking.

Something seemed to occur to Ruby as she walked, and she asked "Why do you use your aura like that?" He raised an eyebrow, not taking her meaning. Apparently others thought this was strange as well, because Blake, Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune all nodded like they had been wondering the same thing. Ruby elaborated, saying "You seem to strike out with your aura a lot. Doesn't that… I don't know, wear you out or something?" Naze shook his head, now understanding the question. He replied "No, it doesn't. I've been told that I have a lot more energy than most people, so maybe that has something to do with it."

Pyrrha gave the others a look that was hard to place before saying "You know, when you fought with me, your aura didn't go down at all. Not even those few times that I did get a successful hit. Do you shield yourself with it like the rest of us?" Naze considered the question for a few seconds. If he answered no, he would have to come up with an explanation as to why he didn't. If he said he did, he would have to deal with them believing that he had inordinate amounts of energy, something that could perhaps be beneficial, but also would draw attention he wasn't sure he wanted yet. He decided that thinking on his feet would be easier than having a constant expectancy looming over his head.

He shook his head. Weiss spoke quickly, sounding somewhat shocked at this revelation. "What? Why wouldn't you? Wouldn't it be much easier to protect yourself than take the damage?" Blake chipped in at this point, adding "Wouldn't it be harder for you to use your aura at all the more damaged you are? Who taught you to fight this?"

Naze shrugged dismissively and said "Maybe you're right, but it seemed to have worked out for me so far. I can fix any damage I sustain without too much trouble, so I figure it makes sense to forgo the whole aura defense thing. I just don't need it." Both girls looked at each other and shrugged. It obviously did work for him. Blake's expression grew more and more troubled, until eventually she said "Doesn't it hurt? I mean, I saw you get hit by Pyrrha a few times, and you didn't react at all. It was like you couldn't feel it."

He had hoped this topic was one that wouldn't be addressed. An insensitivity to pain was a surprisingly difficult thing to mask, and often even harder to excuse. "No, it doesn't hurt. I might not protect my body, but my mind is well shielded from things that might distract it." He thought this was a relatively sound explanation, logical and sound enough to hold up to criticism. Instead however, he was met with looks of something very close to horror. Pyrrha stepped in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from continuing walking.

"You do what?" She asked, the intensity in her eyes somewhat puzzling. He answered her question as simply as he thought necessary, saying "I use my aura to block myself from feeling pain. This allows me to continue fighting through even the worst injuries until I have the opportunity to heal myself." Pyrrha's expression changed again from one of worry to one of pity, and of scolding. "You can't do that! You'll get yourself killed! If you can't feel pain, how would you know if you were seriously injured and needed to heal yourself?"

He thought for a few seconds before shrugging again and saying "It's not any kind of great mystery. I can still feel the injuries, and I know what requires fixing. Call it an instinct, I suppose." They had exited the school building and were on the way back to their dorms to spend the remainder of the day either working, goofing off, or some combination of the two. The bright sun beat down on all of them without a hint of mercy, and he could already see them starting to show signs of heat. "Let's just go back to our rooms and have a quiet evening, shall we?"

Ren raised an eyebrow at him before saying "Quiet? I don't know what you do in there until four in the morning, but whatever it is, it isn't quiet." Naze let a slow annoyed hiss of air out from between his teeth. Soundproofing. How could he have forgotten soundproofing? It was such a simple step. He shook this feeling off and said "You can hear that, huh?" Every member of team JNPR nodded, and Nora even paled a little at the thought. She swallowed a lump in her throat and asked "What do you do in there? Like Ren said, you go really late, but I can't even tell what it is. Sometimes it sounds like you're chanting, and other times it sounds like you're just sitting there scraping on the walls. It gets really freaky sometimes."

Naze looked them over. Now that he looked, most of them did look like they were missing a few hours of sleep. He bow his head slightly and said "I'll be sure to keep it down, than. My apologies." Jaune waved a hand in a dismissive manner and said "Don't worry about it." The others seemed to follow this, all except for Nora, who continued to look like she was trying very hard not to think of something, whispering half-formed words to herself under her breath, glancing around erratically like she was trying to distract herself, and occasionally clenching her eyes shut and shaking her head. Normally Naze wouldn't be too concerned about this behavior from the girl, it didn't seem too far out of the ordinary for her, but given its apparent relevance to his personal affairs he was growing concerned. Had she heard something she wasn't supposed to? No, she wasn't regarding Naze with any particular distinction. Had she seen something? Again, if she had seen something that would induce such strange behavior she would likely be avoiding him. It was entirely possible that her behavior was of her own volition. But the chance that it wasn't was just a little too great for Naze's comfort.

He spoke, saying "Nora, are you alright? You don't look well." The others of the group looked at the normally blindly chipper girl, and stopped when they saw her. Ren was the first to try and help, putting a hand on her shoulder and speaking in a soft voice "Nora? Nora, you need to listen to me." He held his arms wide and took a small step beck before saying "Nora, come here. Come On, it's alright."

Nora's eyes went to Ren for several seconds before continuing their erratic flicking, now returning to Ren periodically. She took a few shaky steps towards him before making a dive towards Ren, wrapping her arms around his waist as tears started to flow from her eyes. She tried to speak, but her throat didn't allow them to come out fully. All that Naze was able to catch was something about "voices" "they" and something about "hurt you". If he didn't know better, he would've guessed that there was something trying to possess her, or at very least drive her mad. There were a multitude of things that could do this, but he had seen no tell of any of them. The beasts capable of such a feat would make some sign, and he would've felt any magic being used.

He tapped Pyrrha on the shoulder and whispered "What's with her?" trying to avoid offending the girl. Pyrrha shook her head sadly and said "We don't know. She's gone to numerous doctors, but none of them could find any real problems. She said that she's been having nightmares recently, but nothing has helped. It started about a week before you showed up. She has breakdowns like this from time to time. She usually tells us when they are coming, but…" she sighed and said "…they've been getting worse."

Naze nodded and looked again to the redheaded girl in Ren's arms. She could just be insane, but…

Naze expanded a field of magic around himself and started to measure. A few of them looked at him briefly with puzzled and slightly suspicions looks before directing their attention back to the sobbing girl. Naze let the power engulf all of them and paid attention to the minute changes that were the result of each person's soul. Every soul gave off some energy as it burned, and the energy expelled from this burning had a detectable effect on the arcane. Most of their distortions were normal enough, if a bit more powerful than most their age, but there was something off about Nora's, just a small twinge of something wrong.

His eyes widened as he focused in on the anomaly. It was, quite unmistakably, demonic energy. Given the small amount of energy being given off, he would've guessed that it was a small demon. Still, a demon at all was a bad sign, but not an immediate problem. There was time to spare, though, and in order to help he would have to set a few more things up in his room. "Maybe it would be prudent to get her to a bed." He said, his monotone seeming quite out of place again. Ren nodded and started herding Nora onwards towards the dorms.

If he had to guess what it was, he would say some kind of parasitic being. They were uncommon, but by no means rare. It would feed off of the emissions of her soul, and when it was satisfied it would leave. They often tried to elicit more emissions from their hosts, often resulting in unpredictable mood swings brought on by hallucinations of varying kinds. Naze didn't have much experience with demons, but he knew more than enough to be able to remove it.

The group reached the building, and Nora was rushed inside. She appeared to be calming down, and was laid down on her bed. She curled up into the fetal position and rolled over to face away from the rest of the group. Naze was quick to leave the room after making sure that she was alright, returning to his own room and removing a piece of chalk from his pocket.

The pentagram shape was the simplest of the glyphs used to command or control demons, and also one of the most reliable. It was easy to make, so he spent very little time on it, making first the five pointed star than encircling it in one deft motion. He was sure to make the circle large enough to fit Nora inside, as it was likely that she would have to be inside of the glyph for Naze to control the demon and pull it out.

Once the summoning circle was complete, Naze straightened up and took a step back, examining it. It would work. He peered around his room, knowing that he couldn't simply invite Nora into his room. The shelves of foul and dangerous fluid concoctions cooked up by Morgana and numerous markings of chalk that covered almost every corner of the room would probably give some hint of his rather unusual state. He would wait until it was night, and take her in her night. He would extract the demon in her sleep, than place her back. No one would ever know.

A knock at his door came as something of a surprise to Naze. Once he was in his room he was usually left alone by the others, and he preferred it that way. The fact that someone was trying to get him to come out would indicate either something was happening with Nora again, Pyrrha was going to ask him if he needed help with anything, or…

He opened the door a small crack and peered through, finding Yang's semi-awkward grinning face on the other side in the hallway. "Yes?" he asked flatly, not feeling very keen for one of her strange attempts at making friends with him. She waved to him and said "Hey buddy! I was going on a walk, and I thought maybe you would like to come with me. Interested?"

Naze raised an eyebrow. Usually she offered to go and work out with him, or something along those lines. Something that he didn't care about. "A walk?" he asked, not sure if she was being entirely truthful. She looked earnest enough tough, and Naze supposed that a simple walk might actually make them a little closer.

He slipped through the door without opening it enough for her to see in, saying "I suppose a walk might do me some good." Yang looked very surprised at this, and said "Oh! Alright, uh, let's go than." She pointed towards the stairwell and started walking. Nathan followed. On the way they passed team JNPR's room, and Naze asked "Is Nora better?" Yang nodded, but her face fell. She obviously wasn't very convinced. She said "Yes, she's stopped freaking out." Than, after a few seconds of silence, she said "I just wish he knew what was going on with her. She'd never done that before." She looked pensive for a moment before she seemed to realize something and looked to Naze with an apologetic expression.

"Oh" she said again "you don't know, do you?" Naze shook his head, and Yang nodded. "A few weeks ago they went on a mission. They were supposed to clear an area of Grimm, and they did, but something else happened." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Nora got knocked out during the last fight, and Jaune said that he saw something weird. He said that he saw some kind of worm thing slither out of one of the nearby buildings and into Nora's mouth. When they got back they made sure that she got every kind of test we have, but no one could find anything. We all just kind of assumed that Jaune had seen something in the heat of the moment, you know?"

Naze nodded. It was a demon alright. Where it had been seemed a pertinent detail, and he asked "What building did it come out of?" Yang shrugged her shoulders and said "There is a failed expansion of Vale not too far. It got overrun by Grimm, and some people say that Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, so the place where such a huge number of people got massacred… it's a popular spot." Naze would imagine it was popular with more than Grimm. A demon could conceivably live for years leeching off of the lingering souls of such a place. If it were the souls of the dead only, the demon wouldn't be able to grow much, and thus would have to adopt a more parasitic lifestyle.

Yang spoke in a forced chipper voice. "Well, let's talk about something else." She pushed the door to the building open and the pair walked out. Again, the sun started beating down on them, but Yang didn't seem to mind much. They started walking towards a street, and Yang said "Where did you live before you came here? I know you lived out in the wild, but more specifically. What was the area like?"

Naze thought about how to answer. There were a million lies he could tell, but there wasn't really any reason to. "I lived right near a swamp. The land was too wet to farm, and there wasn't really enough around to hunt, so eating was pretty hard. Other than the swamp the only other feature was a huge forest. We scavenged in the forest, and avoided the swamp." Yang raised an eyebrow and asked "Why avoid it? Couldn't there be stuff you could use?"

Naze shook his head and said "My father thought the swamp was cursed. I don't know why, but he used to say that if you were dead long enough in there, you would eventually get back up." Yang gave a small snort and said "Wow, that's pretty weird."

Naze continued talking, figuring that telling her such vague details was harmless. "Somewhere inside of the swamp, there was this huge crater. He took me to see it once, but he never took me down there. He said it was the most cursed of all. I don't think I believed him. It didn't look like there was anything more than jungle down there."

Yang gave a low whistle and said "That's pretty wild. Do you think you could find your way there again?" Naze shrugged and said "I don't know. Maybe." Yang was silent for a few minutes after this. Then, as they turned a corner, she said "Hey, Naze."

He looked at her, and she said "You're an auxiliary, right?" He nodded. Yang started brushing her fingers through her hair and asked "So… missions are coming up pretty soon. I was wondering, maybe you would want to go with us? I'm sure that Ruby would be glad to have you, and I'd like to see you do a little more fighting." Her eyes went from Naze's face to the blade still on his back. She gave him a weird look and asked "Do you ever leave that that thing alone, or…"

Naze shook his head and said "No, I'd rather not leave it anywhere." Yang nodded and said "Yea, it is really important to you, I guess. Does it have a name?"

Naze glanced over his shoulder at the hilt of his blade before looking back at her and saying "A sword." In a flat voice. Yang shook her head and said "No, I mean…" she rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh before saying "I mean like a specific name. You know; my weapon is Ember Celica, Ruby's is Crescent Rose, yours is…" she motioned towards him, prompting him to finish the sentence. He didn't have an answer. He replied "I don't name weapons. It seems kind of weird to me."

Yang gave him an incredulous look. She looked like she wanted to argue this point, but didn't seem to be able to form the words required. Naze used the silent time to observe the street around him. Lights blinked from store windows, and the occasional car went rolling down the street, their drivers focusing on the roads. A pair of individuals, both Faunus, one male and one female.

Yang started to say something, but the two Faunus grabbed his attention by starting to slip into a back alleyway and pulling white masks from their pockets. Before Yang could berate him about the importance of naming a weapon, he grabbed her hand and pulled her slightly to the side, pointing at the two people so that Yang would look at them. Her eyes flicked around briefly before she saw what he was pointing at and squinted so that she could see better. As soon as she verified what she saw she said under her breath "White Fang"

Naze recalled the first foray into the modern world he had taken, and to what disastrous effect the White Fang had intervened. Given their large part in recent events, Naze was considerably interested in what they were doing. It didn't seem the he was the only one, as Yang started to walk after them without any provocation. Naze followed, looking both ways across the street to ensure he wasn't hit by a car.

The pair disappeared into the alleyway, and Yang was close behind them. Naze brought up the rear, not knowing what lay ahead. Yang hung back so she wouldn't alert them to their presence, and watched from afar. Voices started to become audible from deeper in the alleyway, and Naze recognized the voice immediately. The gravelly mutterings of Hale, the undead merchant of Naze and sometimes criminal overlord when needed, was hard to misplace. He was saying something about dust, either to himself or to his guards, Naze couldn't tell.

Yang turned and whispered "They are going to steal that guys dust! We have to help him!" Naze held up a hand to stall her and peeked around the corner. The two Faunus were readying weapons behind a few piles of garbage, and Hale was at the far end of the alleyway, putting large bags over the backs of several undead horses, every inch of skin covered to hide their skeletal frames. Meandering behind him were two tall figures cloaked in ragged looking black robes that covered them just as well as the horses were. Naze immediately recognized them as the guards who often accompanied Hale on "business trips".

Yang made to walk past Naze, but he held out a hand, stopping her. "They've got this." He said "just watch." She looked from Naze to the White Fang members to the two guards, and finally came to a rest back on Naze. "How can you know they can handle it?" she asked, still in the hushed whisper. Naze made a gesture to the guards and said "Look at them! If anything goes bad, then we'll intervene, alright?"

Yang didn't look like she likes this solution, but she nodded. Yang and Naze continued to silently observe the scene unfolding in front of them. Hale gave a loud whistle, and the horses started to move, their hooves clopping steadily on the paved ground. The two White Fang members leaped from their hiding places at this point, placing themselves directly behind the guards before the woman shouted "Hold up!"

The reaction was immediate. The horses stopped, the guards stopped, and Hale stopped. All turned slowly to face the White Fang, and none looking very tense about it. The two robbers held up their weapons and said "Give us the dust, and you can walk away from this." There was a heavy moment of silence between the two parties before Hale broke out into laughter and said "Go home, children. I've met insects in my travels more frightening than you."

The male robber didn't take kindly to being mocked like this, and started to walk up to Hale, brandishing his weapon theatrically. He didn't get far, however, as one of the two guards delivered a sudden clothesline to his head that knocked him flat. The female robber reacted quickly, jumping forward to assist her partner, but the other guard wasn't having it. In one fluid motion he drew a curved scimitar, delivered an elegant yet crushing upward slash to the woman, and sheathed his weapon. The woman was sent flying and slammed into a wall on the opposite side of the alley. She didn't have any visible cut, so Naze assumed that her aura had blunted the attack. Her body fell back to the ground and thudded limply on the ground.

Hale gave another throaty chuckle and turned back to his horses, saying "That was thrilling." In a sarcastic voice. Yang started to move from their hidden position, And Naze again tried to stop her. "What are you doing?" he asked "They handled it!"

Yang nodded like that was the point and said "Yeah, I want to talk to those guys!" and pushed past him. Before he could stop her, she called out "Hey! Who are you people? Are you huntsmen?" Immediately upon being addressed the guards turned away and Hale waved a hand at Yang, saying "Go away girl. This doesn't concern you."

Yang was nothing if not persistent however, and pursued them. "Come on, just a minute. Could you teach me how to do that?" She reached to the point where the White Fang had been seconds earlier and showed no signs of trepidation about being dispatched in such a casual manner. She made a few gestures at the guards, hoping to elicit some reaction before starting to get upset. "Come on! Don't be such dicks!" she gave one guard a kick to the legs, but he remained unresponsive, only continuing to walk forwards undaunted. Fed up, she grabbed a hand full of his robes and gave it a hearty yank. It didn't come off, but a long rip appeared along his legs, revealing the sheathed blade as well as a leathery grey withered leg. Yang's attention was fixed first on the blade as she seemed to notice something, than floated up towards the guards face.

Milky white dead eyes peered back at her from behind a matted layer of wispy oily hair. Numerous small cuts covered the face, and the head didn't even have a lower jaw. That was all the detail she was able to make out before both she fell down and the guard pulled his hood back over his head. Without another word, the caravan started moving again. Naze stepped out from behind his corner and walked over to Yang, helping her up. She immediately fixed him with a panicked gaze and grabbed his shoulders, saying "We have to find help for that guy! We have to… have to…" her voice trailed off, and she did a double take in the direction that they had left in.

Naze fixed her with the best worried look he could manage and said "What are you talking about? That guy looked fine." Yang looked down, confused for a second, before looking back into Naze's face and saying loudly "No! It… he… I know what I saw! He needs help!" Naze shook his head, again looking worried, and said "Yang, I don't know what you saw, but he was fine."

She looked at Naze an expression of pure disbelief on her face. Could she have imagined the whole thing? It had seemed so real…

The walk back to their rooms seemed to pass quickly. Before she knew it, Naze was bidding her farewell for the day and slipping secretively back into his room. She told him that she was looking forward to the mission they would be embarking on together and walked back to her room. When she opened the door, Ruby gave her a hopeful look and asked "How did it go?"

Not sure how to respond, Yang walked over to her bed and sat down, trying very hard to organize her thoughts. "I… I think I need to lie down." was all she could say. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all gave each other concerned looks, but Yang didn't care. She was worried too. She had really thought that she had seen a zombie. There was still one thing that she couldn't shake, however.

* * *

"Do you really think that this guy's blade was the same metal as Naze's?"

Ruby's face was curious and questioning, but Yang didn't think that she really understood why this was a big deal. The other two were slightly better, but both were clearly not making the connection. Weiss nodded her head, agreeing with Ruby. "Yeah, just because they have the same kind of metal doesn't mean that they have any relation."

Blake also nodded and said "Naze's dad, or whoever forged that blade, can't be the only people who knew how to do it. And so what if they were? It doesn't mean anything."

Yang sighed and turned back over on her bed. Something had been off about those men, even if she hadn't imagined one being a horribly mutilated corpse. Naze had acted strangely. Why had he stopped her from helping in the first place unless he knew them somehow? There were secrets going on here, and she didn't like it. But, on the bright side, he had agreed to accompany them on their mission. Maybe she could get him to talk about it there. Wherever "there" happened to be.

Ruby knew that this was eating at Yang, and Yang knew that she knew. Why did her sister have to be so damn good at reading her? A weight came down on her mattress, and she could tell just from the lightness of it that it was Ruby. A hand came down and rubbed her back comfortingly. In spite of herself, she relaxed under it, feeling the tension slowly seep out. Ruby said "Yang, just stop worrying about it, at least for now. We can ask Naze about it tomorrow."

She grumbled in tentative agreement. Her eyes felt heavy, and her breathing slowed. Her grumbling was quickly transformed into snoring, and she drifted off into sleep, a small smile crossing her face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note**

Hello, dear friends. I come bearing another chapter, and ask humbly in return for a review. Even you. Yes, you. Especially you.

Thanks.

* * *

The moon and its many shards rose into the sky, and Naze looked up from the rune on the floor. Multiple seals of protection that would contain any minor demon summoned inside the circle. The diameter of the circle itself was five feet, and every measurement was to such an exact level that nothing short of a highly advanced computer could even hope to get close. He needed a few more things for the ritual, but the most important of them would be Nora. It would, after all, be difficult to extract the demonic parasite without its host.

He pushed off of his knees and turned towards his door, walking through and to the door of team JNPR's room. He came to a stop as he stretched a hand out towards the doorknob. He gave it a few twists before concluding what he had already been almost certain of before, that it was locked. Naze stepped back and bowed his head, letting his attention shift to the souls around him. There were many around him at the moment, but he centered his attention on those inside of the room. He didn't know the bedding arrangements, but he could identify the souls by their feel.

The soul that burned a large but dim flame was Jaune's. A very peculiar kind of potential sat deep at the bottom of his soul, like it was waiting to be used. The next soul was powerful and handled, fairly obviously Pyrrha's. It reminded Naze rather uncomfortably of the Paladins of the past, and how much effort they put into what was essentially sharpening their souls for battle. He wondered if the girl had had a hard life. The next soul he looked at was very clearly Nora's, not only because of the slight demonic tinge to the energy, but also because of the sheer amount of energy pouring out. It was a soul without any reservations, arguably as pure as they came. Naze wondered if she had any passions or goals that he might be able to recruit her with. Such a driven and energetic person was a rare and valuable thing. The last soul was Ren's. Perhaps not quite as powerful in terms of raw energy, but there was something more calculated about his than the others.

He reached out with his power, engulfing Nora's soul. He might've felt bad about doing this, but if she ever found out she would thank him. He bore down on her, asserting his will over her own. It took a few seconds of struggle that wouldn't have happened if he had been there in person, but he was able to possess the girl, her pure spirit bending under his force. Naze commanded her to get up from her bed and open the door. After a few seconds of waiting, the doorknob turned and the door creaked open.

Nora Valkyrie stood looking at him with uncharacteristically cold eyes and a totally blank expression. She wore pink shorts and a dark shirt with the word "boop" emblazoned brightly on its front, both looking wrinkled and slept in. Naze wordlessly turned and started to walk back to his own room, Nora following in a slow, dazed state. The door behind Nora fell closed but didn't latch shut, and Naze made note of that. It would be mildly suspicious if Nora were to get locked out of her own room in the middle of the night.

He reopened his own room and ushered Nora inside. She obeyed unquestioningly, and at a thought from Naze crossed her legs and took a seat in the center of the rune. Naze stood over her, contemplating how to continue from here. There were several ways he might be able to get the demon out of her, but most involved lengthy rituals that would take at least until morning and would be rather loud. Most methods other than those more ritualistic often involved some kind of physical harm to the host of the demon. It was possible for him to summon a poltergeist, or even to delve into her soul directly and pull the demon out, but doing so would risk doing permanent damage to her soul, even with such a small demon as the one that was inside of her.

There was another method of extracting a demon that shouldn't have been too difficult, considering the small size of the demon. If he offered it something more than it already had, it would probably leave Nora of its own accord. After that he could just pull Nora from the circle and the demon would be trapped.

He looked around him room. There were many items sitting in the dark corners and on top of shelves that might've been invaluable to any creature of the flesh, but that wasn't what a demon was. Not entirely, anyways. It wouldn't accept the things that Naze had in his room. It might accept a new host, though, and there were plenty of those around. He guessed that because the demon wasn't very powerful, and had probably survived off of the residue of souls long dead. Because of this even the smallest demon would be stunted. Stunted, but not necessarily stupid. He would need something to fool it, but maybe not something too convincing.

Naze looked down at his puppet body. He doubted that the demon would believe that it was a normal human. It would be able to see that the four crystals of domination were what controlled it. It might be attracted to blood, but Naze had none, and it would already know the taste and smell of Nora's blood. Someone else's though…

Naze turned back to the door and walked back out, drawing his sword as he went. His steps slowed as he started to weave a spell together with the crystals in his body. None of the runes of his blade would help with this one. After a few moments the spell was ready, and he pushed the door to JNPR's room open again. As he did he started to let the spell work its magic. A sickly green vapor started seeping out of his weapon through pores so small they were nearly nonexistent. He walked into the room and passed the blade over each of the sleeping members of the team, allowing the gas to drift lazily over them. Each one breathed the gas in, and each one seemed to slip into just a little bit deeper sleep.

The teens now incapacitated, Naze looked over his options. The demon would undoubtedly be attracted to Jaune's power, but without a doubt Nora's gave off more. It would likely find Pyrrha's soul unattractive, as more tightly controlled souls were much more difficult to leech energy from. That left Ren as the only option. He considered for a moment. Ren did seem to have feelings for Nora, at least to some degree. Perhaps not any kind of romantic feelings, but more that of a sibling love. If there was anything that demons loved to feed off of, it was love.

His decision made, Naze picked Ren up off of his bed and slung him over his shoulder, walking out. He didn't bother closing the door to their room as he left, he knew he would be back before too long. As he reentered his own room, Nora's head followed him, her eyes still without any emotion. Naze put Ren down next to the circle and looked to Nora, saying "Demon, I have something for you. A trade of a sort. Leave the child's body, and we can discuss further."

Nora simply continued to stare at him, expressionless, but he could feel the demon react. Its drainage of the energy being put off by Nora's soul slowed, allowing more of it through. As a result, Naze had to tighten his grip on her soul to keep her in his thrall. He waited a few seconds before being sure that the demon was not reacting before taking Ren's hand in his and sliding it lightly over his blade. Without his consciousness to direct it, his aura did nothing to protect him, and his skin was split easily by the cold metal.

Blood started to leak slowly out of the wound, and Naze smeared the blood of the floor inside of the circle. "Take this. A sample, and a gesture of goodwill between us." He said, doing his best to sound sincere. Again, Nora look at him without any change, but the demon started to move. It disentangled itself from the outer parts of Nora's soul and began to slither out towards Ren's blood. Naze slowly removed Ren's hand from the circle and moved himself to the side of Nora.

From his position behind her, he could see the demon exit her body, slithering out from her mouth, a few strands of saliva and mucus clinging to its nearly translucent skin. A deep ember glowed through its pallid skin, casting a fiery glow over everything around it. The thing was about half a foot long, and small portions of it seemed to phase in and out of existence rapidly. As soon as it was completely out of Nora's mouth, it flopped out onto the floor with a wet thud and started slinking towards the blood.

Naze grabbed a fistful of Nora's shirt and yanked her out of the circle rather unceremoniously. She would probably wake up with a few bruises on her neck, but it was all for a good reason. The demon started to roll around in Ren's blood, and Naze took a step back to survey the scene. The demon was trapped, whether it knew it or not, Ren was still unconscious, and Nora was still solidly under his control. He got up from his position on the floor and walked to the shelves that housed many jars of softly bubbling and glowing fluids. Naze picked one specific jar off of the selection and twisted the top off. An arid smell filled the room, and was accompanied by a slow sizzling sound as the air started to react with the chemicals inside of the jar.

He walked over to Ren, still unconscious on the floor, and dabbed a small bit of the fluid onto the open wound on Ren's hand. The blood steamed and spat angrily, but the flesh began to knit itself back together, the fluid differentiating into the parts that he had lost. It might take some time, but the concoction would heal the damage completely.

Naze looked over to Nora again. She was still sitting quietly. At a mental command from Naze however, she got up, taking Ren in her arms as she went, heading towards her room. She closed the door behind her, and Naze nodded approvingly to himself. She wasn't needed anymore. She could go back to sleep. He could see through her eyes somewhere in the back of his mind as she opened the door to her own room, laid Ren out on his own bed, and put herself under her own covers. Nathan than let his grip on her soul loosen and fade.

She slipped back into sleep, and Naze turned his attention back to the little worm in the circle. It was starting to strain against the outer parts of the rune, throwing itself against the invisible barrier with all its pathetic might. Each time it made contact with the arcane barrier that now contained it, it let out a small squeal and its outer fleshy layer let of a small jet of smoke.

Naze had certainly been correct when he had guessed the thing would be stunted. It was one of the weakest demons that he had ever seen. He wasn't quite as confident that the rest of his plan for the thing would work. In spite of this, he spoke out to the thing, saying "It will do you no good to struggle against that, beast."

The worm stopped its struggles and pointed what Naze presumed to be it's from end towards him. A whispering sound, weak and almost inaudible emitted from the creature. It had been too quiet for Naze to understand, and he leaned in, asking "What?" The demon whispered again, and this time he could just make out the strained sounding gasps. "What do you want from me?"

Naze smiled. Straight to the point, just how he liked it. He replied, saying "A deal. That's what you demons love, isn't it? Though the roles might be reversed on this one, as I hold all the cards, I think we can both still get what we want." The worm stopped moving altogether as if it were considering its options before whispering "How do you know how to trap me?" Naze's reply to the question was a terse "I'll be the first to ask questions, thank you." Before he turned away from the demon and thought. So many things he might ask, none of which the demon was guaranteed to know of course, but that was a chance he was willing to take.

Before he could turn and address the thing again, it whispered up to him "A deal? Yes! Your soul for a service!" Naze raised an eyebrow despite the fact that the thing probably couldn't see it. Such a small demon was very unlikely to be able to do anything useful, and couldn't do anything that Naze's shades couldn't. His response was a barking laugh. It sounded a little more forced than he might have liked, but such was the way of not having any emotions to speak of. The virtual immortality being a lich granted was well worth it. "You" he replied "can provide no service for me that I can't have done on a whim by someone else. No, what we will do… is questions. I will ask you a question, and in return you may ask me one. At the end, if I'm satisfied, I set you free."

The worm considered again before shaking what Naze was now reasonably sure was its head and saying "No, you guarantee freedom! Ask three questions, I ask one, let me go." Naze put a hand to his chin. Demons were known for their keeping of general rules, so long as others also adhered to those rules. They were also known for their trickery and unpredictability. With that in mind, it was difficult to consider that the small parasite in front of him could possibly pose any threat to him, physically or mentally.

"Alright, but both of us must swear to tell the truth." The demon nodded as anxiously as the spiritual equivalent of a tapeworm could, and Naze sat down in front of it. Now, the questions. What would he ask? There were three things he was interested in at the moment, and all of them were things that the demon may or may not have knowledge about. He couldn't be blamed for trying though, and drew in the breath for his first question. "You are one demon, and a small, pathetic one at that. You can't be the only demon in the world. Where are the other ones? Certainly Hell hasn't closed its gates?"

The worm made a high pitch tittering sound that sounded vaguely like laughter. Naze waited patiently for it to finish before it responded "You are either very old, or very. I was born after it happened. The Masters bade that all knowing of to them and minions be destroyed, and that all passages into the mortal realm be destroyed. They fought with their minions, but beat all of them. Many smaller demons were trapped here. I am one of the trapped. I never found any big cities of people, only people old dead people. They don't taste good. Your girl, Nora, was the first living soul I tasted." If Naze could assign emotions to the inhuman voice, he would've said that it sounded almost regretful. He felt no pity for the demon, though. If it had been given free access to the souls of the living from the beginning there was no telling what kind of horror it would be now.

He was much more interested in the things that the demon said. The Arch-demons of Hell had willingly closed their gates? Unlikely at best. He knew better than to ask clarification on the topic though. He had other topics he wanted information on. Instead, he simply nodded and asked his next question.

"What happened to the Paladins of old, the Order of the Holy Light, which made them fall?" This was more a question of personal curiosity than one of any real consequence. He only hoped that they had faltered and burned so spectacularly that they had lost all respect and reverence that they had once held so arrogantly for much of the more recent of Naze's time.

The demon tittered again before saying "You are old. Very old." and stopping to collect its thoughts. After a few seconds it continued "Paladins fell before I lived. I hear story from others like me. They say that Paladins supposed to be strong protectors. The masters knew it was not true, and attacked when they were weak. Many helped Masters to get things. Many helped masters fight. After they fight and win, Paladins become demons. If they lose in fights, Masters eat them. Few Paladins survived. They go into hiding after fights, everybody hate them."

Naze wished that it had given some kind of date or other measure of time. He wasn't about to waste his last question on something so trivial, though. He found himself split between several remaining questions now. How did the Grimm originate, why had the demons done what they had done, what event had spawned the Faunus, and… and how long had he been asleep. He berated himself for the last one, for it was of little concern and would offer up little to no useful information. The demon clicked itself eagerly against the floor, waiting for his next question so that he could ask his than go free. Naze thought hard about what he should pick, when suddenly something popped into his head. All the other things he or someone serving him could find out, but there was one question that would be exceedingly difficult for anything except this demon could answer, having been conscious during the time it was.

"How and why have auras become so well-known and trained? It seems that the standard strength of someone's aura now is that of what used to be reserved for the greatest warriors." It was something that puzzled him. Even people in the city who had likely never held a weapon in their lives had very strong souls.

The demon didn't laugh this time. Instead it slinked back to the center of the glyph and looked up at him. "You" it whispered "know a lot." Naze didn't know if this was meant as a complement. The demon continued, saying "The Paladins who ran away were smart. They knew their Order was dead. Instead of trying to fix, they made it new. Called themselves Huntsmen. Trained others to use their souls, not like before, new. New way believed in self, not human good. Not evil or good."

The demon's garbled speech was getting more difficult to understand, but he thought he caught the gist. The remainder of the Paladins had fled, and assumed new identities. Their faith, the most important part of the Holy Order, had likely been destroyed irrevocably, but they could have found a new strength. From the sound of it, they had trained and hardened their own souls instead of their connection to the light. They had then trained others how to do the same. Traits of souls were semi-hereditary, and if those ex-Paladins had trained enough people, a stronger soul could've become the default for a human. Pure and simple evolution at work. For such a dramatic change to occur with what he assumed to be a small number of Paladins, he inferred that there must have been incredibly small numbers of humans. Dodging the bullet of extinction seemed to be one of mankind's specialties.

The demon gave a few celebratory flops around before looking up to Naze again and saying "My turn! My question now!" Naze nodded and said "Indeed, your one question was earned." The demon gave something akin to an affirmative nod and said "So many curiousness. You don't look like other people. You look different. What are you?"

Naze raised an eyebrow. Had he really just been put in the position demons usually took? There were so many answers that he could give, all technically true, that would satisfy the demons question without giving any useable information. He could say that he was human, he could say that he was dead, he could say that he was a scholar, he could say that he was conscious, and all of that would be true. Whether it was because the demon was kind or stupid Naze didn't know, but it hadn't given any such answers. It was tempting to flip the tables and play the opposite role, but he was capable of being the bigger person. There was no logical reason to lie to the parasite, so he didn't.

"I am a Lich. I have had many names throughout history, but I rather like the one I've earned." He turned again to a shelf and removed a thick glassed empty bottle "My name is Naze the Eternal." He turned and placed the bottle on its side inside the circle. "And that concludes our deal. Get in the glass."

The demon did whatever the slug equivalent of eyeballing him was before complying. As it wriggled its way into the bottle, Naze walked over to the wall and threw the window wide. A quiet but desperate squealing started to come from behind him, and he turned to find that at some point during the demon's attempts to enter the bottle it had rolled to the side of the glyph on the floor. The glass, unbound by the arcane forces that the rune utilized, had continued to roll over the edge, forcing the demon into the barrier. Smoke was starting to fill the bottle.

Naze walked past the rune, giving the bottle a small kick as he went to relieve the demon of his pain. Just because it was evil didn't mean that it needed to be tortured. He took a wet rag off of a table and set it down next to the glyph. Next he took the bottle and stoppered it tightly, making sure that the worm's meek force wouldn't be able to open it. Then, sliding the rag across the side of the rune and breaking its cohesion, he took the bottle over to the window. The demon gave a small jerk as it passed over the lines but relaxed again as it made the journey without issue.

Naze dropped his arm behind him and struck stance that would allow him to hurl the glass as far as possible. The demon voiced some misgivings about what was happening, but they fell on deaf ears, and in seconds the bottle was hurtling through the air, spinning wildly with a screaming demon inside. Naze watched the bottle fade into the distance before falling back to the earth and hitting the ground somewhere far away between two buildings. It landed out of earshot, so Naze wasn't sure if it had shattered or not, but it was hardly his concern anymore. He had gotten what he had wanted out of the demon, and it was already heavily stunted, so it was no longer his problem.

He closed his window and turned away from it, taking the wet cloth in his hand and finishing the cleaning of the chalk off of the floor. Time ticked on, and he thought about what the demon had said. The legacy of the Paladins was all around him, but seemed to have been purified by what Naze could only imagine as a demonic crusade in an effort to send humanity back to the dark recesses of their past devoid of knowledge.

He didn't like it. It was very clearly a plan of some kind, but what the end goal was he couldn't guess. Demons plans were often convoluted and spanned such insurmountable lengths of time that they rivaled even those that Naze had hatched in his time. If the arch-demons themselves had ordered it, and had even fought their own subordinates, they must have had plenty of faith that their plan would work. Naze hoped that their plan had nothing to do with humanity, but doubted it. Mankind had been a thorn in their side far too long to escape their spiteful gaze.

Without any gods to protect them, he doubted they would stand much of a chance against the teeming hoards that served the great evil lords of the deep pits without gods to help them. Divine power was often the bane of the demons, just the same as how holy power had ever so often disrupted his own plans.

Divine and holy… minute differences between the two, but far from the same force. The differences had taken Naze years of comparing and contrasting of differing cultures and beliefs to puzzle out, but he felt better for it. Divine power was from a god, and could only be given by a god by gaining its favor. What this favor required depended greatly on the god, and because of how gods were made, on the people who believed in that god. Someone who embodied the traits that their culture considered like that of their god, than that individual would be in the favor of that god, and thus gain power from them.

Holy power, on the other hand, was more of an individual strength. Not quite purity, but drive, one's desire to do something channeled into a specific kind of power, not unlike how arcane knowledge could be used to cast spells. Less useful to large groups, and difficult to train on a larger scale, it was little wonder that it had never quite reached the commonality that the powers of gods did.

But now it seemed that things had changed. Naze had yet to see hide nor hair of any gods, old or new, and the strengths that humans now possessed in themselves had already been demonstrated to him many times. A paradigm shift he wished he had been able to observe in motion. But it was no use to wish such things, and he had those in his employ who were itching to set out across the world and begin sifting through ruins and digging up cities so that they might chronicle what happened. So what was he waiting for? Why not simply send them out, and take this knowledge?

The answer was simple enough. He didn't need enemies. He had learned all too well that those only inhibited progress. There was a way to bridge the gap between the culture of the dead and the culture of the living, he was sure of it. It was merely a matter of finding it. If the opportunity presented itself, than he would take it, regardless of what his people said. They argued and voted over whether or not the living could be trusted, not over whether or not to reveal themselves. And, with this new demonic plot thrown into the mix, Naze feared that they may be forced into sharing at least some part of the vast knowledge that they had accrued.

He shook his head and withdrew from the puppet body, letting it sink back to the floor. He would go, and speak with the demonologists about what could be done about divining the cause for what had happened, and what would happen in the future.

* * *

The sun rose happily over the city, sending light into the various dorms as numerous alarm clocks went off around the building. Students everywhere groaned as they pulled themselves slowly out of bed and started the dreary ritual of getting ready for the day. Something was different about today, though. Something in the air was just a little more charged with enthusiasm. Today was the day that missions were once again to be assigned, and not a soul in the school wasn't looking forward to that. By now the first years were allowed, albeit hesitantly, to undertake missions on their own. They had already been allowed this privilege several times (if they performed up to standards in class) but it still felt like an accomplishment.

Ruby was, predictably, the first one out of bed, and had her team's equipment all packed away in her backpack. Everything they might need was in that pack, food, tents, fire supplies, everything except for her beloved dog, Zwei. She still had pleasant memories about her first mission despite the fact that it had been somewhat terrifying as it happened. It wouldn't go that way again, though. They would stick to missions more appropriate for their experience level this time.

And they wouldn't be alone! She remembered Yang telling her yesterday that Naze had agreed to accompany them on their mission. She hoped that she might learn something about the mysterious student. It seemed like he tried to keep it that way, though. It kind of reminded her of Blake in a weird way. Blake was more direct about not wanting to talk about her past, Naze always just diverted the conversation away from himself. Beyond telling them about the area that he had grown up in and how he came to find himself in Vale, she knew almost nothing about him. She hadn't even seen the inside of his room. She wondered if he had posters on the walls like Yang.

Speaking of her sister, Yang was the next one to rise from her slumber. She threw the covers of her bed off and stood, stretching her arms above her head before walking across the room, patting her sister on the back and saying "Ready for today?" and entering the bathroom, the door closing behind her and the sound of a running water coming through the walls. Ruby responded eagerly, ready to get out and test herself against the enemies she had been training so long to kill. "Yup! How about you?"

A laugh came through the wall, louder than the water, and was followed by "You know it!" Ruby smiled. That was her sister alright, ready to charge headfirst into whatever trouble she could find so long as she had fun doing it.

Blake and Weiss arose from their slumber at around the same time, sitting up, stretching, and rubbing their eyes, waiting for Yang to finish. She did shortly after, drying her hair off, dressed in her combat gear and strutting out of the bathroom confidently. She nodded politely to Weiss and gave Blake a few playful punches on the arm, saying "How about you, lazybones?"

Both girls gave the exited blonde a tired nod. How Yang was so awake already, even the morning of a mission, was a complete mystery.

The rest of the teams preparations went quickly, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss all getting dressed and checking their weapons. Ruby checked, double-checked, and triple-checked her backpack. Everything that they would need was still there. Hardly able to contain her excitement, Ruby announced that it was time to go to breakfast.

They lined up and filed through the door, but stopped only a few steps after leaving their room. Yang, Weiss, and Blake looked over Ruby's shoulder to see what was the matter, and found Naze sitting with his back against the wall, eyes closed, and totally unmoving. Not even his chest was moving with the breath that should've been rhythmically pumping through his lungs. They stared, dumbfounded for a few seconds before Ruby made a move forward to see if there was anything the matter with him. As soon as she started moving towards him, Naze's eyes opened and it head twisted towards her. For a brief moment the two stared at each other uncomfortably before Naze quickly rose to his feet and gave a small bow, saying "Morning, ladies."

The group of four eyed its potential fifth member cautiously, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Thy found nothing, save maybe the fact that there appeared to be light chalk residue on his hands. Yang asked "Are you still good to go on your first mission with us?" in a hopeful tone. Naze shrugged his shoulders and said "As ready as I can be, I suppose." Yang gave him an encouraging smile and said "That's the spirit!"

Naze gestured for them to lead the way, and they did. The cafeteria was buzzing with the sounds of exited first years quickly wolfing down their food to get to the auditorium as quickly as possible so that they could get their assignments. Ruby's team all sat next to each other eating, but careful not to eat too much. Naze sat on the across from them, looking on distantly. Ruby wasn't sure if the others noticed it or not, but Naze was watching them eat, an expression that was the closest she had ever seen to longing come across his face.

She reached over the table, offering him a roll, but he held a hand up and shook his head. Ruby out the roll back down, her own food suddenly not seeming quite as appetizing as it had seconds before. Blake had noticed this little exchange and raised an eyebrow at Naze, saying "You really should eat something. You could pass out if you don't."

Naze shook his head again before saying "I appreciate the concern, but its fine. I don't need anything." They doubted his judgment slightly, but let him do as he wished. They had never seen him eat before, and it was entirely possible that he had already eaten. The rest of the food was devoured quickly, and the group set off towards the auditorium.

As with the several other times that they had gotten assigned missions, Ozpin was standing at center of the stage, looking over the large number of students waiting to choose their missions. The group stood amid the other students waiting for about five minutes. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss made a few small comments to each other, but there was no real conversation between them. After several more minutes of students slowly streaming into the room, Ozpin cleared his throat, and the room fell silent.

"As you know, your duties as Huntsmen and Huntresses is to the people of Remnant. It is time again for you to go out and serve your duties!" a round of cheers went up among the students, and holographic displays emerged from the floor and flickered into life, letters forming into words and selections of different options.

Ruby looked back to her teammates and asked "What do we want to do?" None seemed to have any particularly strong feeling one way or the other, and eventually they looked to Naze for his input. He didn't even know what the options were. In accordance with this, he shrugged his shoulders and peered around at a few of the screens to see what they were. At the top of each screen was what appeared to be an area marker, "ZONE 1" "ZONE 2" and so on. He rolled a mental dice to decide on a number, and it came up with seven.

He looked towards the seven board. There were hardly any students around that board, and those who were looked like they were simply lingering to look like they were doing something. As Naze started to walk over to the display, Weiss put a hand on his shoulder and asked "Really? Seven? That's pretty far from Vale."

Naze raised an eyebrow and said "How far is it? Is it more dangerous than other places?" His curiosity was genuine, he hadn't heard anything of zoning, even in his reading. Weiss looked to the others briefly while trying to formulate an answer. The other girls gave her back shrugs and unsure looks. She sighed and turned back to Naze and said "It's mostly vacant, with only a few scattered villages here and there. The land isn't very useful. It's just flat plains mostly, with no natural defenses from Grimm. In the far side of the zone there's some thick swampland, but that's about it."

Naze nodded and said "I'm used to swamps. Do you have any problems with that?" Weiss looked hesitant, mumbling to herself "swamps are disgusting…" but the others shook their heads. He gave Weiss an apologetic shrug and said "Sorry, majority rules." And resumed walking. As he came to the display he stepped aside, making way for Ruby. She was still the leader of the team. As she drew closer the display changed, a list popping up below the number, and Ruby read it out loud.

"We've got… two Search and Destroys, one escort, and one scouting." She turned back to her team and asked again "Any preferences?" Yang was quick to answer, clapping her fists together energetically and saying "Search and destroy, I feel like a workout!" Weiss pouted and said "Yang, you always feel like a workout. Can we please do something at least a little bit less terror-filled this time?" Blake spoke out next, saying "What about the scouting mission? That could be interesting."

Yang stepped forward and tapped a finger on a small dot next to the "search and destroy" and a list dropped down revealing details about each one. Both were in the plains, and against fairly small numbers of Grimm, mainly centering on keeping the population in check. Next she tapped the "escort" tab. The list of details came down, revealing that if they took it, they would be taking a small team of scientists to the swampland to investigate anomalous behavior in the surrounding atmosphere. This sounded very close to a ward Naze had placed on the area around his crater and ziggurat to prevent any aerial attacks on his dwelling. It was good to know that even after the indeterminate amount of time he had been gone from the world, his magic was strong enough to continue. It also confirmed the niggling suspicion he had had about the swamp they were talking about actually being the one Naze had created.

It was something of a long story, but it had essentially been Naze's response to growing animosity against him and his people in particular. If people attacking him had to wade through a swamp teeming with bloodsucking leeches, venomous snakes, and the occasional roaming zombie or two, they would just as likely not attack him at all. The plan had worked wonderfully, and the living had deemed the area "The Black Morass" for its alleged cursed origins. He doubted that any of the undead creatures had had originally populated the area with still roamed. They had all been mindless creations, made without any soul or personality, existing only to wander in the muck. Naze had little dominion over what they did as a result, and they acted on whatever twisted instinct drove any such undead.

Next, Yang hit the "scouting" tab. As it had with the others, a list of details dropped down. Naze read quickly, and immediately him mind made connections. The mission entailed going deep into the swamp, finding the remains of a ruined town and looking for survivors, and identifying an alleged new kind of Grimm. The small town that he had first observed upon emerging from his slumber hadn't caused any trouble for him, and Morgana had gotten her claws into several Grimm corpses and applied her… special touch. He recalled what little he had seen of the twisted creatures, and understood how they might be confused with new breeds. They had been so twisted that they barely resembled the Ursa they had been in life. Could this be the opportunity he had been waiting for? Those that already call him friend would've been a logical place to start.

Yang tooled to her sister and asked "Well, what is it, captain? Do you want to go and kill monsters in epic duels, help a couple of egghead scientists, or go sightseeing in the swamp?" Ruby put a hand to her chin and thought. "If we were the ones who found a new kind of Grimm… do you think we would get to name it?"

Naze wasn't entirely sure how to respond to this question. On the one hand, it did display at least some curiosity and drive to learn, but on the other hand it was so childish and half thought through that he didn't know which factor played more of a part. Weiss seemed to feel along the same lines, saying "Is that really your main-" but being cut off by Blake, who stepped forward and said "They probably would let us pick the name."

This seemed to win the girl over entirely, and she turned, about to confirm the selection, when she remembered the new fifth member of the team. "Any objections?" she asked, none of the glimmer fading from her eyes. He shook his head, and Ruby quickly turned around and input her team name.

A green banner popped up, reading "Assignment Confirmed" and a small tone played from Ruby's scroll. Ruby turned back to her team, pulling the device out of her pocket and saying "Alright, we're supposed to report to a Bullhead for an airlift."

The group turned to leave, only to find Ozpin standing behind them. They all gave a small start of surprise, but the man only took a sip from his coffee mug and said "So, off to the marsh I see. I would urge you to be careful there, children. Grimm are likely to be far from the only hazards in places teeming with such diverse life. Treat wounds carefully, avoid disease and infection, I'm sure you know the drill. Swamps pose a unique kind of threat to teams, large or small." He turned to leave, saying "Good luck" over his shoulder as he went.

All of the girls watched him go before turning back to Naze, and Ruby asked in a slightly worried voice "You know how to deal with all that stuff, don't you?" He nodded and said "Of course. It isn't nearly as bad once you know how to care for yourself. I'll keep a close eye on you guys to make sure you don't manage to kill yourselves somehow."

They started walking towards the strips where the Bullheads would be waiting to take them to the outskirts of the bogs. Naze walked beside his new teammates, wondering how he would reveal himself, if he did end up doing it. The answer that he came up with to this question was: carefully.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

I am really happy to present this chapter. It has been the largest so far, and things are really starting to kick off now.

So, If you like it, leave a review, and tell a few friends about it!

Please enjoy.

* * *

The Bullhead started to draw close to the thick tree line and towards the ground as Ruby pulled her map out and started pointing, talking the plan up to her teammates again. Her finger went first to a small red circle near the bottom of the map, and she said "This is the clearing that we're landing in." she traced a small area around the clearing "This is the area that has been scouted recently, and declared reasonably safe." She dragged a finger in a straight line from the center of the clearing to the middle of the bog, and to the crater in the middle. "This is where we need to get to. Once we get there, all we need to do is to confirm that there is a new kind of Grimm, and get out. Understood?"

The other members of her team nodded, and she looked back down to her map, narrowing her eyes and thinking back to what they had been told. "The escaped villagers said that the new Grimm was highly aggressive, and very resistant to damage. What did we say that we were going to do if we were forced into a confrontation?" She knew that the elementary method of quizzing her teammates was probably mildly irritating, but it was important that they all know the plan.

Blake was the first to respond, looking up from the book in her hand and saying "If we get forced into a fight with a new Grimm, we are supposed to get out of combat as fast as possible and regroup as soon as we can and get back to the Bullhead."

Ruby nodded, satisfied with this answer. It was somewhat simpler than the first time that she had explained it, but the core ideas were the same. She moved to the next question. "We are also supposed to give a general report as to local Grimm numbers and types. How frequent are Grimm sightings here, and what kind?"

Quick to respond was Weiss, looking somewhat eager to show off the fact that she recalled the direction as clearly as she did. "Grimm numbers in this area are notably low, and no one is certain why. The only kinds of Grimm who live in the area are pack Grimm only. The majority of those sighted are Beowulfs, but there are some Ursa as well. Sightings are rare because of the lack of any real observation inside of the swamp itself, but those on the edges of the swamp would suggest that Grimm numbers are very low." Ruby started to nod, but Weiss continued talking "It seems to me that the small numbers of Grimm are somehow related to the anomaly in the airspace above it, but I guess I don't really have anything to back that up."

Ruby regarded her for a second in silence, wondering why she had felt the need to insert her opinion in such a non-important place, but dismissed it as one of her eccentrics. If she felt the need to have her opinion heard, than Ruby wasn't going to tell her to be quiet. She waited a few seconds to make sure that Weiss didn't have anything else to add before continuing prepping her team.

"How are conditions in the swamp?" a small question, but one that's importance couldn't be understated. Naze had made it fairly clear that without some preventative measures things would be bad. He had been sire to tell her about all manner of things that could either kill or try and kill them. Bloodsucking leeches, venomous wildlife (both plant and animal), disease bearing insects, and even bacteria infested water were about as far as he had gotten before Ruby had told him to stop and simply tell them what they needed to have. It was for that reason that all four of them were now wearing thick leather pants. They weren't thick enough to hinder movement or give any other detriment, but were more than enough to be uncomfortable.

Yang was the one to answer this question, giving her legs a stretch against the brown leather and saying "It's really nasty down there. There are animals, plants, basically everything wants to either kill you or live in you somehow." Mental images of things like botflies and various parasitic worms that Ruby knew about came crashing down into her mind, and almost made her gag. She wished she hadn't had time to look up some of the names Naze had dropped in such a casual manner as he had. Apparently Weiss felt something similar, because her face paled slightly and she looked down. Blake, Yang, and Naze seemed totally undisturbed by the idea. Ruby couldn't help but feel baffled by that.

Yang smirked as she saw her sister's reaction, and continued, saying "Sorry sis, but you did ask. Other than that, we should basically stick to general hostile area rules: Treat open wounds as quick as possible, don't drink the water, don't take candy from strangers, and don't get in any vans." Her smile widened at her own joke, but no one else seemed very uplifted by it. She shrugged her shoulders and sat back in her seat, figuring that they could be disgusted if they wanted.

Ruby managed to keep her lunch down, even in spite of the barrage of images that popped up onto her scroll, and that she couldn't have hoped to get rid of quick enough. She supposed that her team was readily enough prepared, and turned her view to Naze. He had been quiet the entire ride thus far, and hadn't displayed any interest in the group's various discussions. He was sitting almost perfectly still, shoulder against the bulkhead and his eyes moving slowly and systematically over the landscape below. There still seemed to be the strange and somewhat disconcerting glint of intelligence that they normally had, but it seemed more distant than it normally was.

She gave Naze a more scrutinizing look. He almost looked like he was asleep, slumped against the back of his seat, not a single muscle moving on his body. Now that she looked, she noticed that he wasn't even blinking. She didn't pay this much mind, however. He had done this before, and being concerned about it had proven fruitless, as he simply snapped out of it after something happened to arrest his attention.

She spoke out to him, saying "Naze, are you alright?" He looked up than at Ruby before nodding and saying "Yes, fine." and returning his gaze to the window. Ruby supposed that that meant he didn't have anything that he wanted to talk about, but Yang looked over at him and asked "What are you thinking about?" in a curious voice.

Everyone else in the Bullhead turned their attention towards Naze, interested to hear his answer to the question. He looked up again from the window and towards Yang, an eyebrow raised, before saying "Nothing much. Just what we might expect to find down in the bog. They're strange places, you know?" Yang nodded, agreeing with the statement. "And there might be new Grimm down there too. Maybe we'll be the first to really see it."

Blake leaned forward, setting her book down and asking "You grew up in a place like this, didn't you? Are you feeling strange about coming back to a swamp like this?" Naze shrugged his shoulders, making his blade clatter slightly against the metal bulkhead and said "Not really, no. I assumed I would be coming back eventually. I suppose I look forward to being back, in a way." There was something slightly foreboding about his words. It wasn't any particular choice of words or way he said it, it just seemed that there was something behind those words.

A click rang out in the cabin, and a slightly distorted voice spoke over the speakers, saying "I'm going in for a landing, please secure all loose belongings and fasten your seatbelts. We're getting close to the anomaly, so expect a little bit of chop."

The four looked up at the ceiling, acknowledging the voice briefly before doing as it requested and fastening the black belts around their waists tightly. The Bullhead tilted down, and began its descent. The engines tilted down and started to weaken, and the whole thing dropped with what seemed to the girls like alarming speed. There was no further word from the pilot though, and Naze seemed totally undisturbed by the drop. The engines gave a short, high pitch whine, and the cabin of the aircraft seemed to slam to a stop. It was a few more seconds before the light tap of the ground on the landing gear could be felt, and the doors slid open with a metallic hiss.

The four girls and Naze undid their seatbelts and hopped out, the voice of the pilot speaking again, saying "I'm staying here in case something happened and you need extraction. Just remember that I can't go any further in than this, so you'll have to come to me. Got that?" Ruby gave a thumbs up over her shoulder in the direction of the cockpit, and the pilot said "Alright. You kids take care now, alright?" Ruby nodded again, the doors slid shut, and the engines came to a slow stop.

They were on their own now, alone in the swamp. Ruby pulled out her map and, after a few seconds of checking, pointed directly away from the landing zone and said "That way!" in a voice far more chipper than she actually felt.

It became clear after several steps that traversing the muddy bog was going to be far more difficult than they had originally anticipated. While the ground they stood on was sturdy and dry enough to not give under their weight, that solid ground quickly tapered off into what looked like several feet of mud, which further faded into a long stretch of winding brown water, thick with a sickly green, almost slimy layer of algae covering the top. Their eyes drifted over the path in front of them, searching for a more easily navigable path, but none revealed itself. Trees, bark black and chipped away in some places and dark green vines hanging down from their tops, stood in some places where the mud was slightly more solid and high enough off the bottom of the bog to support the web work of roots that the trees constructed.

Naze stepped past ruby, going first ankle, than knee deep in the combination of thick brown mud and slimy plant growth before turning around and saying "What are you waiting for? It won't get any easier than this. Just wait until you have a snake biting your ankles, or maybe a leech sucking at your juices, then we'll be having real fun." He spoke from experience, however eldritch those experiences might've been. It had been a very long time since he had been alive, but swamps had certainly been a large part of his life. The memories were almost as murky as the waters themselves, piled under eons of study and observation.

Yang was the first to follow him, putting one foot forward into the muck determinately and following it with the other. Blake was the next, stepping in Yang's footsteps to ease the process, like walking through snow. Weiss and Ruby hesitated. Ruby gave a slightly worried look over her back at her beloved hood, and Weiss looked at her white outfit in dismay. Neither one had dressed especially well for the occasion.

They followed though, doing the same as Blake, using the work of the leader to ease their own way. It wasn't long before even Yang fell into line behind Naze, who didn't seem to have a problem forcing his way through the grime, not showing so much as a hint of struggling against it. For the girls however, it was a different matter entirely. The air was humid and hot, practically sapping the water from their bodies. They breathed heavily, starting to feel choked by the heavy fumes and vapor that permeated the swamp.

They dragged on, struggling to continue moving. Things only got worse when a small swarm of insects surrounded the group, buzzing quickly around their heads and occasionally biting and stinging their exposed skin. Ruby put her hood up and was granted some relief from the attacking insects, but the others didn't have hoods that they could use. It was about half an hour until they found themselves on solid ground again, and they all looked relieved to finally get out of the mud.

Naze walked up onto it first, and offered a hand to the others. One by one, he helped them out, offering a hand to pull them out of the swamp. Their leather leggings made unpleasant sucking sounds as they were removed from the mud, and Ruby's almost came off in the muck. She was able to hook her foot back into it and make sure it stayed in place, but a small amount of water fell into her legging, the warm feeling of the slimy water against her skin making her cringe.

Naze finished helping them up and stepped back, observing his four variously fatigued companions. Ruby looked like she had taken the hardest hit in terms of the drain swamps had on people. She had a thick layer of sweat over her entire body, and her hair was soaking wet despite her head remaining well above the water level. The next up was Blake, under similar conditions, if looking slightly less heated. Weiss wasn't looking too bad, considering the circumstances, although she certainly looked the least comfortable. Her normally spotless white outfit was splattered with mud, plant slime, and various other swamp-fluids. When she reached the island of solid land she made a few halfhearted attempts wipe it of before giving an exasperated sigh and giving up, taking a seat on the dirt.

All of the four sat down, very obviously unable to continue for a time. Even Yang, who looked like she was hardly breaking a sweat, was breathing heavily and reaching desperately for a thermos of water. Naze knew that they must've been dangerously dehydrated. "Drink slowly" he said "we'll rest for a few minutes before continuing on."

Ruby gave an exhausted nod and laid back, her cape providing a layer between her and the ground that the others didn't have. The cape itself was sopping wet, just like everything else long enough to hand down, and bore a large amount of bog material. She took her pack off and laid it down next to her, rolling over onto her side to root through it. She pulled her own container of water out and started to drink deeply.

Yang sat next to her, also starting to drink. Ruby tapped Yang's leg and motioned towards the bag before taking the water away from her face, drawing a deep, gasping breath, and saying "map". Yang drew the rolled up paper from one of the pockets and handed it over. Ruby unrolled the map and held it over her head in front of her face, reading it with dull, tired eyes. Naze stepped over to peer at the map as well. Ruby pulled out a red pen and tiredly made a line from their starting point to around where they were now. It wasn't the most accurate of lines, but it would do. After the line was drawn, Ruby let her arms fall limply back down, the map fluttering down on top of her face. As her arms fell, Naze noticed something on the inside of one of her arms. He smiled.

Reaching down and lifting the map up slightly, Naze pointed to Ruby's arm and said "I see you made a friend." She gave him a confused look, glanced at her arm, and gave an earsplitting squeal as her semblance activated and she threw herself into the branches of a nearby tree. The leech stayed firmly in place however, and didn't seem too bothered by the sudden jerk.

Yang was first to her feet, giving Ruby a worried look and crying out "What's wrong?" throwing her arms back into a combat stance and steadying her stance. Wordlessly, Ruby shook her arm at her sister in an attempt to display the creature for her to see. Yang eyed the thumb-sized worm before calling out "You're going to have to come down here if you want any help!"

Reluctantly, Ruby dropped back down to earth, holding her arm away from her as she did so. She and Yang converged at about the middle of the small island, and Yang took Ruby's arm in her grasp, examining the small interloper that had attached itself to her sister's skin. Ruby had one hand to her mouth, trying not to scream again from the sight of the thing.

Yang took the leech in a gentle grip and looked Ruby in the eyes, saying "Hey, focus on me, alright? I'm going to pull it out on three. Ready?" Ruby nodded, and Yang started counting down. "Three!" she shouted loudly, and tore the leech off of Ruby's arm before hurling it back into the murk only a few feet from them on all sides. Ruby gave and indignant cry and pushed her sister lightly, only making her lean back slightly to absorb the force.

Naze clapped his hands together, sending a sharp echo out, bouncing off of the numerous trees, roots and vines that surrounded them. "Alright, I think we're ready to move again. Everyone up, let's get this done!" He sounded far more enthusiastic than he felt. Not a difficult thing to do, given his generally emotionless state as a lich, but he somehow managed to infuse his words with at least halfway believable sounding zeal.

Ruby and Weiss groaned, but the group got ready to start moving again. Naze started sloshing through the thick mud and water, the others using his tracks to ease the journey. With occasional glances over his shoulder, he could tell that Ruby was keeping her arms far away from the water. He decided not to tell her that many leeches also dropped from overhead foliage in order to co-opt a host.

It was about another half an hour before anything else interesting happened. Not even a conversation was able to be struck up, for all the girls were too focused on not letting the various hazards below the water's surface like fallen vines or protruding roots trip them. When finally something did happen that was more interesting than their slow but steady trudge, it was something that made Naze's eyes go wide.

A hollow moan came through the trees, and a far off splashing could be heard. Naze held up a hand, signaling that they should stop, and listened carefully to the sound. There was no mistaking the dead wail of the creature. Somewhere, off in the distance, was one of the corpses that Naze had reanimated in this bog so long ago, still prowling for invaders. How it was still functioning, Naze had no idea. The chances of such an event occurring were so infinitesimally small…

But nevertheless, here it was. Naze extended his mind through the crystals of domination in the body he controlled, and sent his dominion over the undead out around himself. Sure enough, the staggering, moaning, but not quite decomposing corpse was shambling towards them, arms extended like a child reaching for a toy. It was behind a thick veil of vines hanging from a tree, shielded from the sight of the rest of his cavalcade. It had resisted rotting to dirt over the vast expanse of years it had patrolled the area by being systematically frozen, inhabiting areas of the morass with more acidic water, and being depraved of oxygen for any of the microbes that would normally consume it. The combination of these factors resulted in it being almost totally resilient to decomposing, making them very low maintenance guardians. As an added touch, because nothing Naze made was ever quite as deadly as he would like, they had a necrotizing touch, capable of killing almost anything alive with enough contact. The life of the swamp was resilient however, and replaced what was lost so quickly that releasing hundreds of these mummies into the area had no significant impact on the ecosystem.

He was about to suggest that they circle around, avoiding the mindless minion, when Yang spoke from behind him, saying "That sounds like a person! We have to help them!" The rest of the girls agreed, saying that it could've been someone injured by the anomalous Grimm they were hunting, and that it was their duty to help them. He wanted to refute that, but he couldn't. Instead, he sent a powerful mental command out to the mummy struggling against the vines that were rotting away under its cursed touch. As soon as the command registered the mummy fell as stiff as a board into the water, making a loud splashing noise.

Naze hoped that this would be enough to get them to drop it, but he was no fool. They wouldn't let this go. Blake spoke from behind Yang, saying "Should we split up to find them?" Ruby responded after a moment of silent thought, suggesting "We have to look for them, but I don't think that splitting up is a great idea. Maybe we should stay within a few feet of each other, just in case whatever we're looking for really is out there. Right?" The others confirmed this, and started to walk past Naze. He cursed to himself before joining them.

He drew his blade from its sheath, razors edge singing as it sliced the air, and said "I don't trust this. Get your weapons ready." They obliged, each one readying themselves for a fight. As Ruby's scythe unfolded from somewhere behind her back, Naze took note of how large the weapon was. In a close quarters encounter of any kind in the bog the oversized scythe would be borderline useless.

Naze pointed his sword to the curtain of vines that concealed the now statue-like corpse and said "It was coming from over here. Cover me while I check." Sounds of affirmation came from behind him as he made his way to the obstruction and, with one deft wide upwards slice, sent most of the foliage into the water. The general form of the mummy was still visible, however, and bobbed beneath the grey and green strands.

The teen behind him made stifled noises of surprise as they saw the corpse. Naze gave the thing a poke with the end of his blade before turning back to them and saying "It's been dead for a long while. This could be the culprit of the moaning."

He got disbelieving looks in return. Weiss looked from him to the body and back again before asking "How can a dead body moan like that?" Naze gave Weiss a raised eyebrow before starting to explain "If a body is dead a long enough time, it starts to decompose. That produces gas in the body, and that gas has to get out somehow. If the body has rigor mortis in its throat at a weird position, it can sound like moaning." Ruby quickly put a hand to her mouth again, trying to hold down her lunch in what appeared to be a continuing battle throughout the day. The other's reactions were more measured. Yang nodded, Weiss scowled distastefully at the body, and Blake raised an eyebrow before saying "It doesn't look like its rotting much. I don't think that it would still be shaped like that if it were. Plus, we definitely heard something moving around on two legs, like we do. Maybe you guys can't hear as well as I can, but that thing was definitely person-shaped."

She was certainly observant, Naze would give her that. Differing options presented themselves to his mind, but very few actually got them off the topic of a straggler survivor. Perhaps the most reliable one that did was also the most risky. Naze decided that he didn't have the patience to deal with a hopeless search though, and decided to run with it.

The command to stop the mummy was following ended, and in its place was an order to attack anything humanoid. Instantly it started to motion, pushing itself up from the water and looking up to find its nearest target. The closest thing was dead, like it, but was undoubtedly human shaped. It let out a moan and started moving towards its new target, acting comparably to a machine.

Weiss gave a startled shriek and brought her blade to bear on the corpse, prompting her allies to do the same. Naze acted without missing a beat, turning and stabbing the mummy in the center of the chest, bringing it to a sudden halt. The halt only lasted a few seconds however, before it started to push itself further into his blade. He brought a foot up to kick it back, but to his mild sense of dread, Yang moved past him, her fist traveling towards the mummy's face. It was all Naze could do to hope that she would trigger her gauntlet and not make any physical contact. He tried to communicate to her not to touch it, shouting "Don't-" but he was too late.

Yang's knuckles connected with the corpse's cheekbone, and her gauntlet kicked as it spat a hot cartridge of dust out into the head of the mummy. The toughened, preserved skin was resilient against the heat, but offered no protection from the physical side of the attack. The mummy was thrown off of Naze's blade and back to the water. Without a second of hesitation, Naze stuck out with a downward lunge, the point of his blade hitting dead center in the neck. As the width of the blade sliced through the tough leathery skin and severed the spine, the mummy's was completely beheaded.

Seeing the opportunity to end the fight, Naze again commanded the creature to stop. It went limp, and bobbed quietly in the water over top of the fallen vines. Weiss, Ruby, and Blake quickly got into ready positions around the fallen body. The corpse stayed still though, and with its decapitation it was easily assumed that it had died a second time.

Yang gave a grunt of pain from next to Naze and pulled her fist close to her chest and started nursing it gingerly. The girls quickly moved around her to inspect the wound, but Naze forced his way through, saying "Keep watch on that thing." as he gestured towards the mummy "Yang, show me your hand."

Yang pulled her hand closer to her, saying "No, I'm fine! It's just a little scratch!" It was far more than a scratch. Mummy rot could easily kill, and if allowed to progress fully, Yang would be resurrected as a zombie, mindless and shambling. "Yang, whatever sense of pride is making you do this, throw it away! Remember what we said about treating injuries quickly? This is one of those times. This is important!"

Yang begrudgingly surrendered her arm, and Naze took it in a strong grip, inspecting it. The skin on the top of her knuckles was just beginning to blacken, light enough to be confused for a bruise. It was much worse than a bruise, though, and was spreading slowly. Naze brought his sword up and placed Yang's knuckles against the crystal of domination in its hilt. She winced slightly as her hand met cold metal, but didn't pull away.

Naze started weaving energy together. He could conjure many different kinds of magic, many of the secrets of the arcane having been laid bare before him over the centuries. In spite of this, one discipline in particular had always been a great thorn in his side. The magics of life and, more specifically, those of mending it, had always been more of a struggle. If he were here in his true body, his lich form, than he would be able to rid her of the rot, and probably leave her better off than she had been. As it was however, working though the proxy of the puppet, weaving a spell like that was difficult.

Power interlaced, his mind strained slightly to keep the spell together, and the crystal of domination started to glow. He managed to wrest the uncooperative magic into what he needed it to be, and expelled it into Yang's hand. She gave a small jerk, but he held her hand in place. Her eyes widened, and she looked on in awe as most of the dying flesh was restored to its prior condition.

Naze let the spell go, and immediately hos control over the puppet body wavered, and it fell limp towards the water. Weiss was just able to catch him before he submerged completely, and pulled him back to his feet. He reasserted control over the vessel and got his legs under him again, saying "thanks" over his shoulder as he did so.

Everyone looked at him. They were waiting for direction, none being sure what their next move should be. Naze looked to Ruby and said "Well, that wasn't a Grimm, was it?" she shook her head, and Naze said "Than let's keep moving." He resumed the trudge towards the center of his swamp, all four girls in tow.

Blake was the first to speak after the run in with the mummy, saying "What was it that your father said about the swamp? That… if you stay long enough…" Naze cursed Blake's name to himself. If she kept this up, he wouldn't have to reveal himself. He spoke over his shoulder again, saying "That if you were dead long enough, you would start walking around again. Don't lend that old man any credit, though, he was insane!"

Blake responded quickly, saying in an increasingly agitated tone "Can you explain what that was? We just got attacked by a dead person! You yourself said that it was dead!" Naze was growing increasingly frustrated. If he was going to lie, he may as well go all out. "I must've been wrong! Dead things don't get up and attack you! Dead things don't waltz around swamps waiting to munch on passersby!"

Blake sounded like she was about to say something else, but Ruby intervened, saying "Guys, we're on the same team here, alright? Sure, we don't exactly know what's going on, but we have a mission to do! We don't know what that thing was. It could've been dead, it might not have been. I do know one thing though, and that's that we can't just fight over stuff like this!"

There were several seconds filled only by the sloshing and splashing of swamp water before Blake's voice came again, and she said "I'm sorry, Naze. I suppose it makes sense that that thing couldn't have been dead." Naze supposed he should give ground as well, and he shook his head, saying "You were right to. We don't know what's happening, nothing is out of the question, I suppose."

Weiss spoke to Ruby, asking "Are we almost there?" in a highly impatient voice. Ruby struggled a moment to pull out her map, but there was little need to. Naze could see the trees starting to thin as they neared the edges of the crater. The crater itself was not in view yet, though. He let Ruby answer the question. "We are… about… fifteen minutes or so, I think."

A collective sigh came out of each of the girls. They were tired, hot, and wet, as well as exceedingly eager to finish their mission and get back. There was still swamp to travel though, and the thinning of the trees only meant that there would be fewer solid spots of ground.

A large hill-like formation loomed in front of them, marking the very edge of the deep chasm that Naze called home. The group made their way up the steep hill and, upon reaching the top, gazed down at the dense jungle below. The view was breathtaking. Jade treetops covered mostly everything, but through the few gaps they could see the dirt floor of the area. At the far end there stood the top of a large structure that looked like it had stood for an eternity. They had all seen and studied several ruins in class, but the structure standing over many of those trees looked like it was still in almost perfect condition.

There was another distinct clearing, much closer to their side of the crater than the other. The angle made it difficult to see the ground through it, but Ruby was sure that she could see a few planks of wood and strips of cloth on the ground. She drew the map from her pack again and looked at it. The place the village was, or had been, was very close to where the wood and cloth scraps were. She didn't need her Huntress training to tell her why that likely was.

Naze pointed to a small, winding set of stairs carved out of the earth that started at the rim of the crater and said "That looks like the only way down." After a quick scan of the rest of the walls, she could confirm that it was the case. Ruby retook the lead of the group, wiping the huge amount of sweat off of her forehead and hoping that the rest of her clothes would dry soon.

The stairs seemed sturdy enough, and were a welcome break after the miles of mud they had already trudged through. Ruby found herself struggling to manage Crescent Rose, and about halfway down decided simply to holster it. The others had much easier times with their weapons, simply carrying them by their sides or, in Yang's case, simply on her wrists.

When they reached the flat bottom of the crater they stopped to take stock of their condition. Ruby drank again deeply from her water, and the others did as well, all accept for Naze. Nine of them said anything about it, though. He didn't show the slightest sign of fatigue. Ruby decided to let her teammates rest for a little while. She pulled her scroll and set the timer for fifteen minutes. That should've been plenty of time to catch their breath, rehydrate, and continue moving. They took seats on the steps and rested quietly.

Ruby laid down on her back and closed her eyes for a moment. The air in the basin was cooler than that in the swamp, and there was even a slight breeze on her face. Where that breeze came from she didn't know, but she wasn't planning on raising the question. Then, a second later, the shrill tone of her scroll's alarm cut through the air and forced her eyes open. She sat up slowly and with a pained groan. She was already sore, and they hadn't even done any real fighting yet. They might not, and she might prefer it that way, but if they did get into a fight it would be somewhat uncomfortable.

She roused her team from the various states of inaction they were in and rallied them in front of the base of the stairs. They looked up to her expectantly, and she said "Alright, we made it! Now all we have to do is find this Grimm, take a few pictures if we can, and get out of here. Everyone ready?" An enthusiastic cheer went up among her friends as they all proclaimed "We're ready!"

Naze watched from a few feet behind Ruby, slightly puzzled at the reason of the somewhat childish display. His attention was quickly grabbed away from the group when he heard something large snap a fallen branch behind him. He turned to face it, and found himself staring at one of the monstrosities that Morgana had created. Its body was mostly hidden behind a large jungle tree, but its head and face were clearly visible. It peered at him with cold, milky white eyes that were devoid of the spark of intelligence that most beings had. In spite of this apparent lack, there was a critical edge to its gaze. Its focus seemed set on Naze, its head cocked slightly as if it was trying to figure something about him out. Then, as soon as it had appeared, it bolted off, moving with a speed impressive for its size. It dashed back into a thicket of trees, sending rotting leaves and pieces of twig flying behind it.

Ruby stepped to Naze's side and followed his gaze curiously. "Do you see something?" she asked softly. He raised an eyebrow. So it was at least smart enough to avoid being seen by multiple people at once. Naze wondered just how intelligent these things were. There were three different reanimated and mutated Ursa that Morgana had had her fun with, and each one had been distinctly different from the others. He didn't quite remember how, but he had a feeling that it would become apparent quickly if they were to fight them.

He also knew that they must've been formidable opponents, as only three had been strong enough to take out an entire village, an accomplishment no matter how small the village had been. That being said though, they would've inevitably sustained damage in the fight. Some Grimm had impressive healing abilities, but upon death those abilities would be lost. The one that he had seen had been mostly shrouded from view, but he would be willing to wager that it bore a few scars from battle.

He shrugged his shoulders and responded to Ruby "I don't know, maybe. I think I just caught a glimpse of what we're here for." Ruby's eyes widened and she started going over the scene in front of her with great attention to detail. Naze nodded and said "I think it's gone now, I saw it run away pretty fast."

Blake, Weiss, and Yang walked up behind him, and Weiss asked "Did you at least see what it looked like?" He nodded again and said "It was big. Big and fast. I think avoiding a fight would be a good idea. That's about all I was able to tell."

There was a moment of silence before Ruby took a deep breath, looked down again at her map, rolled it up and said "Well gang, let's go check out where the village was. We'll be bound to find some clues there, right?" the rest of them nodded, and Ruby started walking. The thick layers of leaves above them blocked the majority of sunlight, and the trees were thick. There did seem to be a slight path, too light to have been there long, but just enough to be visible. A few distorted footprints adorned the dirt, dragged and dug in so that they looked like whoever had made them had been running.

It wasn't long on this path until they came to the first ominous sign. In the middle of the path a large patch of dirt was clumped and blackened. Naze recognized it as blood, and the others seemed to as well. A large mark led straight away from the patch and into a thicket of trees and bushes. The group only regarded it morbidly before Naze said "That's at least a week old. Someone bleeding that much wouldn't make it a day. And besides, if they did get away I seriously doubt they would stick around in the giant hole in the ground with the monsters that destroyed their village."

Blake agreed, saying "If they would've gotten away… there would have been blood on the stairs. Let's just keep going."

They did, and as they walked Naze started expanding his presence around him. He didn't even need to do it through the puppet body, everything in the crater was well within his natural dominion. He felt out, ignoring the thousands of undead who resided in the ziggurat and paying attention only to loose, uncontrolled entities. Other than a few wandering souls, the three mutants were the only things in the crater not under Naze's power. One was still stalking them from the shadows, staying at a distance to avoid alerting them, and the other two seemed to be remaining still at a small clearing. The fact that the clearing was also the location of the destroyed town was likely not a coincidence.

The next signal that something rather unfortunate had happened was much more striking. A mangled corpse, stiff and rotting, was lying still in the middle of the path. A small cloud of buzzing flies hovered around it, and a layer of maggots wriggling on top of it.

Ruby gagged and turned away from the corpse. The pictures on the scroll had been bad, but this… this was something else altogether. The smell of rancid, rotting meat and the sound of the maggots writhing against the body and against each other was so repulsive. All of them reacted somehow. Weiss put a hand to her mouth and turned away, her face scrunched up and eyes closed. Yang took a step back and drew a surprised gasp. Blake seemed less surprised to find a mangled corpse, looking around the body for any clue as to where the perpetrator of the killing went.

Naze was not fazed. He stopped waling only because Ruby had been in front of him. He waited for Ruby and Weiss to recover from their mild gagging fits for about half a minute before putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder and saying "Just close your eyes, stop breathing and walk past it." She nodded and took a deep breath before closing her eyes and starting to walk again. Yang put both her hands on Ruby's shoulders, nudging Naze out of the way, and guided her sister past the body. Blake and Weiss followed quietly.

They had all seen death before, but not like this. This was very different. This wasn't people dying to defend themselves, this wasn't even people killed to feed a Grimm's ravenous hunger. This body had been left in the dirt for no reason. Whatever had done this was worse than any Grimm they had faced before. They didn't know why they felt like this, but the feeling was strong enough to be felt in the air.

They came to the end of the path, and Ruby held up a hand to signal they stop. She crouched down and got behind a tree, peeking out from behind it and fumbling for her scroll again. The others following her moved similarly to get out of view of the clearing ahead. Naze did the same, putting just a little more focus towards the undead Grimm.

The two waiting in the clearing were already aware of their presence, they were just waiting for something. Naze could've controlled them and forced them to do whatever he wanted, but he was interested to see just how much intelligence they had retained through what Morgana did to them. He peeked around a tree the same way that the others were doing, and got his first good look at the beasts.

Both were still almost recognizable as having been Ursa at some point, they still had a general bear-like shape. The rest, however, was far different. One of the mutants looked like some kind of animated siege engine, with thick plates of bleached white bone covering almost every inch of its body, and numerous spines sticking off of those plates. If Naze had to guess what Morgana's goal had been with this one, it would've been that she was trying to give it some sort of exoskeleton. There were a few cracks and marks on its carapace from battle, but none had broken through its half formed shell. It looked like its mobility was restricted in certain areas, as many of the plates looked like they were grinding against each other at their edges.

The other one looked quite different than the other, appearing to be in constant motion despite lying inactive on the ground. Bulging sacks of foul-looking fluid gestated on its sides and back, and most of its hide was replaced with a pallid, transparent material. Its fur had fallen off, and through its pale skin it innards could be seen, the organs that one might expect to see replaced by bulbous and slightly glowing things. A few weapons were lodged in its side, and through the holes created by those weapons the sickly fluid dripped out, causing steam to rise off the ground as it was assaulted by the chemical. Its muscles and bones were small in comparison to what it should've been for a creature that size. Naze assumed that the excretion was acidic or corrosive in some capacity, and that it used the creature's own body as fuel to continue producing it, hence the beast's weak look.

The final Ursa was still hidden from sight, and Naze couldn't tell the particular details about its form. What was obvious, however, was that it was starting to close in on them. Ruby finished snapping her pictures and stood, turning to her teammates and signaling for them to proceed down the path they had come. They did, and Naze followed, curious as to what was about to happen. He didn't have to wait long to find out.

Before they had taken more than ten steps, the final Ursa sprang from the foliage and set itself firmly in their path. It was perhaps the most monstrous of them all. The creature's hide was thickened by numerous calluses across every surface, and its talons and teeth looked more like metal than actual teeth. These were hardly its most noticeable feature, however, as it towered above them, about three times their height. Muscles bulged out from splits in its hide where it had grown too large for its own skin. A viscous fluid dripped from its massive jaw, and Naze had the distinct feeling that it was a little more than mere saliva.

The beast growled, and Ruby immediately upholstered her weapon and brought it to bear on the thing. It lunged forward towards her, and Yang grabbed a fistful of Ruby's hood before throwing her back. She managed to keep a hold of her weapon, but landed on her back.

Yang turned and sprinted away from the beast, shouting "Run!" as she did so. As she passed Ruby, she reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her with her out into the open clearing. They got a short distance from the massive beast before noticing that the other two had gotten into positions to block them from escape. Naze readied his blade for a fight, and the others did the same. Ruby called out to her team, trying to give them some zeal for the fight, saying "I guess we're fighting than! Get ready! We can do this!"

She didn't give any very practical advice, so Naze through that he would add his own. "Don't hit the swollen one too close, it could burst! Don't stay still too long, keep moving!" that was about all he had time to say before the huge Ursa roared and charged forward. Ruby was still the closest to it, but she was ready for it this time. She did an impressive backflip, narrowly avoiding the sharp clawed swipe, before landing on her feet, her rifle pointed at the beast's face, and fired.

It was a well-aimed shot, the dust projectile hitting dead-center in one of the beast's eye and reducing it to a sizzling goop that dribbled lazily out of its socket. It didn't seem to care, however, and merely lunged out again. It was Yang who retaliated against this strike, jumping towards it and throwing a mighty punch into the side of its head. This was enough to knock the monster's attack off course, but seemed to act as some kind of signal to the other two. The armored one took a few clumsy steps forward and started biting at whoever was closest. The fluid-filled one opened its mouth, and a thick spray of its acid spreading over the ground in front of it. What little vegetation that covered the floor of the clearing that was caught under this acid immediately started to smoke and wither. Blake was barely able to jump out of the way.

The massive beast roared again, and Naze's attention was drawn towards it. He looked, and found Ruby directly in the way of its gaping maw, her weapon held limply in a grip that wouldn't afford her any useful action before the jagged metal shards closed around her. Yang was already in the process of responding to this, but her punch was misaligned. If it continued on the path she had set for it, her fist would be inside of the beast's mouth. All it would take was a quick snap shut, and Yang would lose an arm. If he knew Morgana as well as he thought he did, Yang would probably be afflicted by whatever toxin she had chosen to occupy the beast's saliva.

Naze's first thought was to assert his will over the creature and force it to miss the attack, to spasm out of the way, or to close its mouth early. He stopped himself, however, as his lich mind and more manipulative nature started to explore the possibilities of the alternative. What would happen if Yang were to die? The immediate consequences were obvious, of course that her immediate friends and family would be disturbed, but that was of little consequence. He had come here with the intent of eventually revealing himself, but what if there was another way? It was clear from past experiences that people reacted poorly to such reveals. If he had someone already familiar with the culture of those he wanted to introduce himself and his people to, it would be far easier, especially if it was someone who was training to become what was essentially a hero.

But would they blame him for her death? Unlikely. Would he blame himself? Perhaps blame wasn't the right word. The feeling of knowing that someone died because of one's direct action or inaction was dulled momentously once one knew what death was like. He doubted that Yang would turn down an offer to continue the adventures she would be missing by dying. And of course he would offer some recompense for her life, him being indirectly responsible for the existence of the beast's that killed her anyways. She would get more freedom than Naze's typical thralls. He would allow her the freedom to act on her own volition, to do whatever she wanted, so long as she performed for Naze when she was called on.

He watched as Yang's gauntlet entered the beast's mouth and fired a wad of burning hit dust. The brightly glowing projectile quickly burned a hole through the side of the undead Grimm's mouth. That didn't stop the inevitable though, and the metallic jaws slammed shut like an iron trap, taking Yang's arm about halfway up the forearm along with it.

Time seemed to slow as more things happened. Yang looked down at the stump left by the monster's bite, and a devilish grin came across her face. Naze wondered if she fully grasped what was happening and was simply looking forward to the fight, or if her body was going into shock.

A bloodcurdling scream rose from Ruby, only a single word: "Yang!"

Weiss and Blake had their attention directed towards the other two threats, but knew immediately that something was wrong. Without missing a single beat, the monster lunged forwards again, teeth bared and maw gaping like an open chasm. If Naze had been sitting down, even he would've been on the edge of his seat. Yang looked up from her stump and directly into the open blackness before her. Again, she only grinned.

The ursa's head tilted sideways as it rocketed forward, and the huge metal trap of a mouth slammed shut again, Yang's entire torso now locked between the jaws of the Grimm. The toxic saliva entered into the wounds, and the Grimm shook her around like a dog did a chew toy. Bones broke, blood splattered, and Ruby screamed again.

"Yang!"

For her part in this, Yang looked as though she was only just starting to feel anything, a shocked and surprised expression dawning on her face. She started to weakly struggle against the beast that held her, but after a particularly violent jerk she went limp.

Even from the depths of the subterranean necropolis, Naze could feel the blistering energy of what happened next. Ruby rose her scythe over her head like it was weightless, and her soul blazed brighter than any he had seen in a long time. Her aura activated like a gun firing, and she sped almost faster than the eye could see towards the Ursa and, pulling the trigger and firing the rifle, started spinning midflight, Crescent Rose reminding Naze of a helicopter blade.

She impacted the Ursa, and completely bisected it. The first of her strikes would've been sufficient to disable the Ursa, but she kept spinning. As its numerous tendons and bones were diced into hundreds of separate parts, the monstrosity dropped Yang to the ground. She hit limply, than to Naze's surprise, looked over at her sister, head barely able to turn enough.

As he watched the broken girl look to her sibling's rage at her endangerment, Naze felt something that he wasn't quite prepared for. It had been a long time since any emotion had hit him this hard, and he didn't know if he could quite identify it correctly, but he just might've called it regret. Sure, he could return her to consciousness, and even bring her to an improved level of cognition, but something was lost in death. The sheen of a soul was dimmed ever so slightly.

But she wasn't dead yet, and continued to look on as Ruby utterly destroyed the Grimm without discretion. Congealed blood and shards of bone were thrown in every direction as Ruby continued to mutilate the destroyed opponent.

Naze turned his back on the grizzly scene, opting to assist Weiss and Blake in their battle rather than stand idly by, watching.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note:

Oh man, things are getting juicy now.  
Don't forget to follow, review, tell me what you think. Please. Please for the love of god don't forget. I'm petty, and need feedback.

Also: If anyone has a bizarre excess of both time and talent, or any combination of those two, than I would like to say that some cover art would be nice. If you want to do that for some reason than just PM me I guess.

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Blake narrowly managed to dodge the armored monstrosity's swipe and brought Gambol Shroud's point to bear on it, knowing that her strike would do little more than irritate the beast, but it was all she could do to keep its attention off of Weiss while she tried to bring down the other Grimm. She thought that she had gotten the better end of the deal. Her enemy was stiff and slow, Weiss's opponent was able to hit her from almost any angle. As such she had to keep at a distance, so that it didn't spray acid on her.

She took a small chance and looked behind her. Naze was moving to assist Weiss with her fight, and Blake couldn't say that she disagreed with his choice. She was in a much less precarious fight than Weiss. Evading large clawed swipes was far easier than dodging a torrent of acid. She looked further behind her, and saw Ruby desperately slashing at what looked to be the remains of the Grimm that had cut off their retreat. Between her and Ruby was Yang, lying still on the ground, a pool of blood starting to form around her. Blake felt a sense of dread in her chest as she saw her partner incapacitated.

Another quick strike swept just a little too close for comfort, snapping her attention back to the fight at hand. She leapt into the air and kicked her feet up above her, sending her into a spin before her feet came back down onto the ground. She looked over again at Weiss, and saw Naze approaching the acid beast, his blade raised. She couldn't believe what he was doing. There was no way that he was doing what it looked like he was doing. No one in their right mind would try and use a broadsword against such an obviously dangerous enemy.

Her own opponent seemed to be just as concerned about the other fight as she was, as it started to turn towards them and make its way over. Blake's eyes widened as she realized that she had let herself stop. Gambol Shroud shifter in her hand into its gun form, and she started firing at the armored creature. It didn't react at first, then gave a few annoyed twitches, than gave a loud roar and turned back towards her. She gave a small groan as the beast started to barrel towards her again. Whatever these things were, they were certainly relentless.

Weiss wasn't fairing much better. Every opening for an attack that opened itself up was impossible to take without getting doused in acid. The creature was slow moving and not terribly bright, but every time she got too close an angered look came across its face and it sent a stream of fluid out of some part of its body. So far she hadn't managed to get even a single hit on it.

The creature gave a hiss, and another deadly spray was jettisoned towards her. She danced out of the way and looked for any other possible opening. One of its forelegs came forward, and a spot if flesh was revealed that wasn't either suspended in acid or dangerously close to an acid sack. She couldn't tell if there was anything important inside the area that she could damage by attacking, but she had to try something. A bright rune appeared at Weiss's feet, spinning, and propelled her forwards towards her target. She brought Myrtenaster up in the proper position that would give her lunge enough power to hopefully do at least something, and flew forwards across the ground, the bottoms of her shoes barely touching the ground. She came within distance of the beast and stuck out, extending her arm and kicking her foot out in a perfect lunge.

Her blade hit, and buried itself hilt deep in what Weiss found to be surprisingly soft and spongey. An idea occurred to her, and her fingers tightened around the trigger that sent the chambers at the base of the blade spinning. She twitched her fingers as the vial of red dust came into the dominant position, bringing the spinning motion to a stop. Then, just as the hideous creature started to react to her, she focused her aura into the dust. The reaction inside the chamber kicked off and sent a massive amount of heat out of the blade.

The fluid inside of the creature started to bubble, and the flesh that she had struck started to break apart. Hissing fumes started to escape from various points on its body, and she realized the desperate need to retreat back to a safe distance. Another rune appeared below her, and she was flung back almost back to where she had started. She was about to make another attempt at hurting the creature when Naze stepped forward from behind her, almost giving her a heart attack. He put a hand on her shoulder and nodded towards Blake, saying "Go and help her, I will handle this one."

Weiss eyed Naze's blade hesitantly before saying "Are you sure? There's no way you can hit that thing without-" Naze cut her off with an impatient snort and saying in a deathly even voice "I know very well what is going to happen. Go and help Blake, and leave this whelp to me." Weiss wanted to argue, but the cold and steely look behind Naze's eyes told her that he wasn't in the mood for being offered alternatives. If he did fight it by himself, he would inevitably sustain a huge amount of damage, given his melee preference, but she supposed that he knew that already.

Weiss quickly moved to help Blake, and Naze watched her go briefly before pulling his blade up and facing the acidic undead mutant. It watched Weiss go for several seconds before turning its attention to Naze. He sent out the mental command for it to stand still, and charged it down. His feet pounded against the ground and the tip of his blade dragged a line through the dirt as he ran up to it. Naze's steps soon brought him through the puddles of acid on the floor left over from the beast's assaults on Weiss, burning holes through his shoes, but he didn't care. He couldn't feel pain, and the damage could be easily fixed by the rune on the back of the puppet body. As long as he kept that rune safe, there was nothing that could destroy the puppet.

As Naze got closer, the acid Grimm started to attack him, shooting gouts of acid towards him and bearing whatever short and damaged stubs passed for its teeth. Thanks to Weiss, much of the acid inside was now gas, forcing the creature to spray more acid than it might have otherwise, as most of what it shot was smoke that spiraled off into the air.

Naze closed the remaining distance quickly, and brought his blade arcing up into the monster's main body, puncturing the largest sack of acid. The buildup of gas inside the body of the creature rushed to escape, pushing the majority of acid out with it. The wave of acid splashed over Naze, propelled at a high velocity and almost managing to knock him off his feet. He held his ground, though, and weathered the torrent of corrosive material, waiting for the creature to drain completely. The sound of his flesh and clothing being eaten away was loud, but it was soon enough that the majority of the acid had drained out of the creature enough so that it wasn't able to move anymore, the vast majority of its body mass having been bled away. Its thin muscles now pulled weakly on what remained of its skeletal structure, too feeble to move.

Its eyes tracked Naze as he approached its head, his skin still burning away. The acid was beginning to seep deeper into him, damaging his muscles, and starting to get uncomfortably close to the crystals of domination throughout his body. The acid would do no damage to the crystals themselves, bur resetting them inside of the body would be an entirely annoying process.

He brought his blade above his head, than brought it crashing down on the base of the creature's spine. The bone was severed, and the body stopped moving. Naze drew what remaining necromantic power was keeping the creature animated and poured it into the rune of repair on his back. His skin and muscle started to knit back together, but was burnt away in the same instant. Naze knelt down and put his weight on his blade, focusing on repairing himself faster than the acid could dissolve him. This continued for several seconds until the acid vaporized and left him.

He stood again and looked around. Weiss and Blake were both struggling to find openings in their opponent's armor. Yang was still on the ground, no longer moving. Ruby was standing over what Naze could only describe as a pile of what used to be a fine example of Morgana's handiwork. From the distance he was at Naze couldn't make out many details, but he was certain that he saw Ruby's chest heaving heavily. Her weapon, Crescent Rose, was held limply by the tips of her fingers, and its tip was buried in the dirt. She looked tired.

She didn't look done, though. She looked behind her, her eyes falling first on her friends fighting against the Grimm, than on her sister lying on the ground. Her fingers tightened around the weapon in her hand, and she pulled it out of the ground, turning with what looked like barely contained rage.

She suddenly raised her weapon over her head and fired the rifle, the recoil propelling her through the air. She rushed towards the armored Grimm with impressive speed, and Naze couldn't help but feel slightly impressed at the brightness with which the girl's soul burned. It was not the strongest light he had ever seen, but it was certainly noteworthy.

Ruby met the Grimm with concussive force, the power of her impact sending out a wave that knocked both of her nearby teammates to the ground. The Grimm's thick bone plating cracked, and faulted under Crescent Rose's blade. They didn't break, though, and the grim swiped at Ruby with a large paw. She was forced to back off, and take a more defensive stance. Naze rushed to help, and came into the fight just as Blake helped Ruby up. Both girls looked to Ruby with a worried expression, than to Naze. "She… something isn't right." Weiss said.

Naze shrugged his shoulder and said "Yang got hit pretty badly, if I were in her position I would probably be freaking out like that to. Now, I suggest we help her, before she gets hurt just as badly as Yang did." Blake gave Naze a worried look, but Weiss nodded. She said "You're right! Let's go!" before leveling her blade on the Grimm and zipping off with the use of her semblance. Naze made to follow, but Blake put an arm out and grabbed his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she asked "What did you mean? How badly is Yang hurt?"

Naze did his best to look worried and looked over at Ruby, who was prowling in a circular pattern around the Grimm and shouting something to Weiss, who was just approaching. "She… I don't think she is going to make it." Blake's face paled, and she said "No, you have to be wrong. There's no way that Yang would…" Naze fixed her with a dead gaze, and she wilted under it. "The least we can do is make sure that Ruby doesn't meet the same end, right?"

Blake closed her eyes, shook her head, took a deep breath, and said "Yeah, I guess so." She turned and sprinted towards Ruby and her enemy, and Naze followed again. Ruby was holding the beast's attention, shouting profanities at it and making wild swings with her weapon. Weiss was standing by her, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Blake arrived and started to circle around, looking for an opportunity. Naze didn't waste time waiting for an opening.

He barreled past Blake, hoisting his sword up onto his shoulder as he did so. The Grimm started to turn to face him, but wasn't fast enough to raise any kind of defense. Using both hands this time, Naze brought his blade crashing down with all the might that his puppet body could muster. Cold metal ground against bone for a brief second before the bone broke, and the plate that Naze had hit cracked, revealing the vulnerable flesh underneath.

Naze made to plunge his blade into the exposed area, but the Grimm threw a paw at him, batting him away. Due to the angle, the hit only made direct force, its claws not making contact at all. Naze was knocked to the ground, but immediately started moving to get back up.

Ruby made full advantage of the opening that Naze had made, jumping over the Grimm and doing a spin in midair, bringing the blade of Crescent Rose crashing into the cracked plate, smashing through the bone and sending small fragments everywhere. Naze decided that now was as good a time as any, and started to suck the power out of the creature. As the force that kept the mutated corpse of the Grimm was drained, its movements slowed and its aggression faded.

The Grimm slumped against the ground, and Naze sprung from the ground and struck at the beast in spite of the fact that it was already unable to function. He dug his blade into a small chink on its hind quarters, and the others followed suit. Weiss planted Myrtenaster in the beast's eye, and Blake leapt on top of it, stabbing into its spine with zeal.

The beast went limp. Naze withdrew his blade and looked at the team. Ruby and Blake both had their attention directed towards Yang, and Weiss was staring of the Grimm's face, stunned. Ruby and Blake both rushed across the clearing to help Yang. Naze followed, touching Weiss's arm as he went, getting her to follow him.

The group came to Yang's side, and all had some reaction to seeing Yang's condition. Ruby fell to her knees, Blake put a hand on Ruby's shoulder and knelt down next to her, and Weiss covered her mouth and looked to her feet. Naze gave the damage a more critical eye. Her right arm was missing, gone from about halfway up the forearm, and her upper body looked twisted. He would guess that her spine was broken, and that her ribs had been decimated. It likely wouldn't be any of those that killed her, though. The marks made by the Grimm's teeth were discolored and poisoned, and Naze could tell that is was too late to do anything for the girl.

Ruby started to cry. Not a small cry, like she had hurt herself or was feeling a little bit under the weather. This was a cry that wracked her body and paralyzed her with grief. She took Yang's hand in hers and looked her over, barely able to see anything through the thick mat of tears that was leaking from her eyes. Yang looked broken. Ruby clutched her hand desperately, begging her not to go, to leave her alone like this. Yang's eyes flittered open, and she looked over at her crying sister, a small smile coming across her face. When she saw that her sister was awake, she went dead silent, and motioned for the others to do the same.

The others fell silent, and Ruby leaned in close to her sister's face, saying "Yang, h-how d-do you f-feel?" Yang's eyes closed and opened slowly, and she took a few shallow breaths before saying in a weak and strained voice "Hey… Ruby. How are you... you doing, kiddo?" Ruby started to get teary again, and she said "I-I feel a-alright. W-what ab-bout you?" She wished that she could get her stuttering under control. She heard Naze talking somewhere behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see him talking on his scroll. She didn't care who or what he was talking about.

Yang squeezed Ruby's hand weakly and said "I… I can't really feel my legs… and breathing is kind of… painful… but other than that, I'm… I'm fine." Ruby tried to respond, but her throat closed, making it impossible to speak. Yang continued speaking, a more thoughtful look coming across her semi-unfocused eyes. "I'm… kind of cold too. I think… I think I might be… getting sick, or something to…I don't feel great."

Naze finished speaking on his scroll. Ruby caught the last few words: "-just trust me, it'll work!" before he pocketed the device and knelt down next to Ruby and looked at Yang. The injured girl took her hand away from her sister's and gave the boy a weak thumbs up before letting her hand drop back to the ground. Ruby quickly took the hand back in her own and looked over at Naze hoping that he could offer some kind of help.

He gave Yang one more look over before looking back at Ruby and saying "I've got the Bullhead on its way. Apparently whatever keeps ships from flying straight is weakening. In the meantime we should treat her as best we can, right?" Ruby nodded, and Naze stood, moved to Yang's other side near her stump, and said "First we need to stop this bleeding. Do you have anything that we could use for bandage until the lift gets here?"

Ruby looked over her person briefly before her eyes drifted to her hood and cloak. It was important to her, but so was her sister. Wordlessly, she removed the article and handed it over to Naze. He took it, obviously noticing the importance that she placed on the item, nodding before ripping a length of it off and wrapping it around the stump where her arm used to be tightly and tying it on. The blood from Yang's wound seeped through the fabric slightly, but the color barely changed at all. The blood red cloth soaked the viscous fluid up and held it, doing its job well enough.

While this was happening, Yang gave Ruby a thankful look from the ground, tears starting to fill her eyes. "Thanks Ruby. I know… that thing means… a lot to you." Ruby could only respond one way. She clasped Yang's hand in both of hers and replied "You mean a hell of a lot more to me than that hood." Naze gave a particularly rough prod to her chest, and Yang flinched in pain. Ruby had to fight the urge to lash out at Naze for causing Yang more pain than she was already in. He was helping her. She knew that. She just needed to let him work.

The damage was no doubt severe, and it weighed on Naze more heavily than he had expected. The many thousands of years he had spent doing whatever he needed to do had been fraught with death of all kinds; innocents always died, and by every hand. Really, if one were to look at it statistically, he was probably one of the most benign rulers throughout history, desiring only to be left alone, not to take land or gain riches. Why, then, was the death of one girl arousing emotion that had laid dormant in his breast for so long? And the worst part, at least to him, was that he didn't even know what emotion he felt. Something close to regret, but not quite that focused on what he had done. He searched though his vocabulary for something adequate to describe it. Nervous, anxious, guilty? No, no and no. Perhaps uneasy. Yes, that was far better.

He remembered instances of feeling this way in the past, even after becoming the lich that he was. It always happened when he approached some point of moral ambiguity that he hadn't anticipated. When the multitude of voices that made up his reason failed to come to any agreement. On the one hand; Yang would die anyways. Old age, disease, or Grimm, it was only a matter of time before something snuffed out that light that burned inside of her. In a way, Naze was doing her a favor, sparing her the dragging years of life and various pains that came with them.

But, on the other hand, there were various pleasures that would be lost to her. Things that she probably took for granted now. Naze could think of more than a few things he had missed when he had become undead. The taste of food, the warmth of the sun, and, most notably, his emotions. Liches were quite unique, even for the undead.

One of the things unique about them was that they sacrificed much to become what they were, and most emotion was among that. Naze had clung to what he still had far more desperately than others who had been in his position before, and he liked to think that this had benefited him. It had, at very least, granted a level of understanding towards the living that most liches had lost.

But Yang didn't have to lose as much as he had. Naze took care to preserve as much of the individual's personality as he could. He lost much of what he had been, and he didn't want others to suffer the same. Naze didn't miss what he had lost, though. He didn't care much for the emotions that he used to feel. They had all been those of a sad little man. He was glad to shrug them off. He knew that his case was not the majority, and that most people wanted dearly to hold on to themselves. And so this was something that he granted.

In the end, the decision would come down to Yang. She would be the one to decide whether she stayed dead to fade into the void or served Naze. He wouldn't force her into anything. It was rare for Naze to force the dead into anything.

Yang gave a small squeal of pain as his fingers pushed against a broken rib, and he was brought back to the situation at hand. Ruby was giving his a worried look, holding Yang's hand tightly. Naze shook his head and said "If you've got any gods, I suggest you start praying." Yang gave Naze an unhappy look and struggled out the words "Your bed… bedside manner could use… a little work."

It was just about then that a high pitch wining started to cut through the air, and all of them looked to see the Bullhead hovering above them. It descended through the air and made to land near them. Naze looked down at Yang, than back up at Ruby and asked "How are we going to move her?" Ruby looked around before her eyes settled back on the cloak that had been used to bandage her sister's wounds. It was still mostly intact, save the length that had already been torn off. Naze followed her gaze and nodded, understanding her meaning.

He laid the cloak out flat next to her, and repositioned himself at Yang's head so that he could lift her shoulders. Ruby did the same at her feet. The Bullhead touched down about twenty feet away from them, and in unison Naze and Ruby lifted the cloak and Yang with it. Her face scrunched up as her body was jostled, but she didn't cry out. Naze and Ruby both walked towards the Bullhead, careful to keep her still between them.

The doors on the sides of the Bullhead slid open, and Yang was set carefully down on the smooth metal floor. Ruby and Naze were the next to enter, and Blake and Weiss were the last in. After all had successfully boarded the vehicle, Ruby gave a few pounds on the pilot's door and shouted "Get us the hell out of here!" in a desperate voice. Wordlessly, the engines fired up again, and the craft left the ground.

A strangled silence filled the cabin. No one was sure what to say. Naze immediately started rummaging around for medical supplies, knowing that Yang was totally out of help's range anyways. He started to stich her up, and Ruby again took a seat by her sister's side. Tears were coming back to her eyes again, no matter how hard she tried to keep them in. Yang looked back at her with a dull smile that almost seemed to suggest that she wasn't fully aware of what was going on. It was likely the case, her body was going haywire thanks to the massive blood loss and the poison.

Ruby took Yang's hand in hers again, trying to think of something to say. There was so much that she wanted her to know, but no way to put any of it into words. Yang squeezed her hand again, and said "Don't look so… so down, Ruby. I'll be fine."

These words only made things worse for Ruby. She shook her head, her body going into full emotional revolt. The throat closed, allowing only short gasps of air through, her diaphragm twitched, and tears continued to roll down her face. Through all this, though, Yang somehow kept a firm hold on Ruby's hand.

Weiss and Blake looked on, stunned. They wanted to do something. To ease their friends' pain, but there was nothing they could do. Ruby was going to have to watch her sister die in front of her. Unless Naze was some kind of miracle worker. He was still working diligently, stitching, cleaning, bandaging, and setting broken bones. Each time he did this, Tang reacted a little less. Bones being snapped back into place that should have elicited screams of pain only fetched slight grunts of discomfort, and eventually not even that. It was clear that she was getting worse. Eventually, Naze sat back into the seat across from them and said in a neutral voice "I'm afraid I've done everything I can."

Ruby looked up, her face reddened and her body shaking, and said feebly "What?" Naze repeated himself, and Ruby looked first from Yang, than to Naze again before saying "But… she isn't…"and her voice trailed off as she realized the finality of the situation. Yang looked up from the floor at Naze and asked "You did everything you could?" He nodded, and Yang closed her eyes, her remaining fist clenching around Ruby's hand.

Her soul seemed to darken, and at first Naze thought that she was finally dying. A second later, an immense expression of effort dominated her face, and her eyes opened, her irises a bright red. Her soul blazed brighter than ever before, and her body started to mend itself. Wounds closed and bruises disappeared. For a moment Naze thought that she was actually going to recover. But then he realized the true nature of the poison that Morgana had bestowed upon the Grimm that had attacked her. It was far more insidious than he had first thought.

The powerful light that now permeated Yang's body was drained by the poison, fading into nothingness before it could do any more good. Naze shook his head slightly as the brutal nature of the toxin started to work. Yang's soul spluttered briefly under the pressure to continue putting out so much energy, than faltered. It stopped shining. This seemed to open the door for the poison to work its full potential, and Yang started to spasm violently.

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she started to shout. Ruby, Blake, and Weiss all reacted with shock and worry. Naze knit his fingers together and watched morosely.

Ruby tried to hold Yang down, to stop her flailing, to do something to help her sister, and the other two girls did the same. It did no good, though, and Yang's thrashings grew weaker and weaker until she was almost still, arms and legs twitching occasionally, a light foam starting to exit her mouth.

Ruby broke. She surrendered herself completely to the tidal wave of emotions that had beaten on her mind for what felt like hours. She was whisked up in the torrent of what she wished had happened, and what she wished she had said. Weiss and Blake started to cry, too. Their friend, as reliable as the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening, had died. The cabin seemed empty now, with only the sounds of crying bouncing against the metal bulkhead.

Whereas the others felt a deafening emptiness, the yawning void of death, Naze felt something different. It was a shift, not a loss. Yang's soul left her body, and entered the space around it. It was without shape or form for several seconds before Yang pulled herself together, and out of the haze the general form of Yang coalesced. Naze watched silently, not giving the slightest hint that he could see her.

Yang looked around at the sobbing faces, confused, and said "What's the matter guys? It worked, I healed myself!" Naze knew what was happening. She didn't know that she was dead. Not yet, anyways. In a situation like this, she was bound to find out quickly. She waved a hand in front of Blake's face, than tried to out a hand on Ruby's head. "Come on guys, quit joking around! I'm right-" her voice was cut off abruptly as she realized what Ruby's head was on. Her corpse was lying on the floor, growing cold.

She simply stared at it for several seconds silently. Then, slowly, the realization of her current situation started to creep upon her, and she started to do what could only be described as freak out. Her hands went to her head, and her form started to lose some of the cohesion it had already established. Naze hoped that she wouldn't do that too much, each time she did it would only speed her way to the void. If she did go it wouldn't be difficult for him to pull her out, but it was an unnecessary step to the process and, at the risk of sounding slightly conceited, somewhat annoying.

Her form started to blur again into a nondescript haze, and he decided that it might be a good idea to intervene. He cast out a projection of his puppet body that would be visible to Yang but no one else. At first she didn't notice the new addition of another soul, but after a few seconds she caught a glimpse of Naze, and reached out a desperate grasp towards him, saying "Naze? What the hell is going on? You've got to help me get Ruby's attention!" She seemed to be calming down slightly as she got a goal, but Naze wasn't interested in that. He needed to secure Yang's cooperation.

"I'm afraid that might be slightly out of your reach." He spoke in a flat monotone. Yang turned back to Naze from Ruby with an angry look, and said "No! I'm here, so there has to be a way I can get to her!" She turned back to her sister, still crying on her dead body's chest, and started talking in a combination of both a soothing and a worried voice, saying "Ruby, it's alright. It's okay. I'm right here."

There was pain in her voice. Naze didn't blame her for it, either. Not only had she died, leaving every earthly thing behind, but she had died a very… unpleasant death. It vaguely reminded him of his own. The memories were buried under many millennia of other memories. At least she had been with friends in her final moments. He spoke again to her, saying "You won't have any luck that way… but I may be able to help you."

She rounded on him with impressive speed, even for a spirit. "What do you mean? What do you have to do? If I can help, let me, please!" Naze smiled what he hoped looked like a generous smile and said "You don't have to do anything. I can give you a short time back in your body, but it won't last long. I might guess around ten seconds or so." A hopeful look came into Yang's eyes, and she said "Yes! Do it!"

Naze reached out with necromantic energy to Yang's body, providing the energy for it to function again. Next he turned his attention towards Yang's soul, enveloping it in the same energies that he had spent thousands of years perfecting his use of and guiding her into her body.

Ruby heaved an especially heavy sob, one that felt like it gouged a hole in her throat to match the one in her chest. She thought she felt Yang's body move, and clutched a tight hold on her throat, looking up to Yang's face with the most hope she had ever felt. To her delight, Yang was looking back at her, a cocky smile on her face, just like always. She moved faster than she ever had before, her semblance flinging her into her sister for her to embrace her. "You're alright!" she cried out, startling everyone else in the cabin. Yang returned the smile, but it faded slowly. Then, suddenly, the seconds beating by started to tick in her head, and her eyes widened as she realized how short of a time she had.

She spoke quickly after coughing a thick mixture of spit, mucus, and foam out onto the floor, bringing her one hand up and rubbing Ruby's hair affectionately. "Listen, this is important." Ruby snapped her eyes to her sister's and listened obediently. "I don't want you to beat yourself up over what happened. It wasn't your fault. I made that choice, so if you blame yourself for it I swear I'll come back and beat the snot out of you!"

Joking even as the clock ticked down and she didn't know if she would get any more time. Admirable, in a way, if viewed from a certain angle. Yang didn't let the joke take any more time than was absolutely necessary, moving on quickly. She pulled Ruby into a rough hug and said "I love you sis." Her eyes flicked around to the other two girls "And you guys too. You were family to me." Her eyes went to Naze, and she started to speak, saying "I wish-"

As much as he would've loved to hear what she had to say about him, her ten seconds ticked up. He stopped feeding the reanimating energy to the body. Unable to sustain, Yang was again forced out of the body, this time with much less of a struggle. She went limp again, head lolling back and arms dropping down Ruby's back. It took Ruby a second to realize what had just happened, but she hugged Yang's body even harder when she did.

Yang recoiled as she was forced out of the body. Naze looked at her, wondering at the best way to make to admittedly strange sounding proposition that he was about to propose. Undoubtedly her sister could be a key factor in winning the girl over, but that wouldn't be enough. Yang looked to soul Naze , a look of both gratitude and regret, saying "Thanks… for that opportunity." Naze the girl small nod and said "The least you deserve is some closure."

Yang seemed to consider this for a few seconds, and then looked shocked. How are you… here, and able to see me? You aren't dead, right?" She looked to the puppet body seated still, staring blankly in front of it. Naze smirked and said "Oh, I don't know about that. "Yang gave him a confused look, and he said "You've been dead for… what, a few minutes? I've been dead for somewhere on the upper side of..." he looked up as he thought, running through the huge amount of time that he had been around and conscious "…five or six hundred thousand years." Yang blinked. "What?" was all she could manage. Naze found himself amused by her reaction, and nodded. "Yes, hard to believe, I know, but it's true." Something occurred to him, and he added "Actually, I could be older than that. I went into a deep sleep recently, and I haven't got a clue how long I stayed that way."

Yang looked his projection up and down, than his puppet before saying "Bullshit. I don't believe you." Naze put a hand to his chest, feigning offense, and said "How you wound me, Yang Xiao Long!" She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes before saying "But seriously, how are you doing this? And how did you put me back in my body? Can you do it again?"

Naze put a hand up to stop the flow of questions before saying "I just told you. And as for the other questions, I would like to talk to you about that. You see… I have something of a business deal." Yang raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. Naze continued "You may not believe me, but I lead a large group of individuals in a quest for knowledge, the end goal being of course to obtain all knowledge possible. This group is comprised of many hundreds of individuals, all of a similar state to me: dead. All throughout our history we have attempted to make peaceful relations with the living of the world, and every time they eventually turn on us, war breaks out, and we invariably win. I would like to break this trend, and secure a lasting peace. I have doubts as to the likelihood of this, though, on account of the large social differences between our two peoples. I would request that you take on the role of ambassador, building relations between our two peoples, in exchange for being resurrected. The majority of time would be yours to spend how you please, attending school, aiding your friends, I don't care so long as you attend the duties I require of you."

Yang leaned back slightly and said "Do you realize how creepy all of this sounds? I mean let's put aside the fact that I don't even believe that any of this exists and that I think you're crazy, and look at the other parts. You are telling me that a whole ton of dead people walking around doing things has gone unnoticed for hundreds of years? Even if they were asleep or whatever you said, someone would've found out about the piles of random corpses!"

Her words hung in the air briefly before Naze responded. When he did it was with a carefully measured tone. "I can understand your doubt, but I urge you to reconsider. You have seen a small portion of what me and my people are capable of, even if you've never seen them." Yang raised another eyebrow and looked to the floor of the Bullhead before it dawned on her. "Those Grimm…"

Naze nodded. "Experiments into the Grimm's physiology carried out by an individual by the name of Morgana. She handles most matters of altering the deceased in ways that magic can't quite manage." Yang responded in a weary tone, regarding Naze now like a stranger. "So it's because of you that I died?"

He had hoped this would not come up. "Well… indirectly, yes. But would you blame a weapons manufacturer if you were shot in the head in the street?" Yang stepped back, processing this information. "Those people… that village… was destroyed because of you." Something was building behind that voice, and Naze didn't like it. But she did have a point there. Any attempt to refute that would've been a boldfaced lie, so he decided to take a different route. "And you can help us set things right." He changed his tone into a more pleading one, but not so much so as to sacrifice any dignity. "Yang, I believe that I've come to think of you as a friend, and I would like to think that you've thought the same about me. Please, you died, and had the rest of your life stolen away from you. Don't deny yourself or the world all the good you could do. I believe that the living and the dead can coexist, and indeed benefit off of one another. You could help that immensely."

Yang slowly asked the question "What would you give to humanity?"

Naze spread his projection's arms wide and said "Everything. You know so very little about the universe and its laws that I feel like I'm watching a child grasp at colored straws. I would spread knowledge of forgotten arts, the arcane and the mystic. Progress would be slow at first, no doubt, as assimilation of such a massive shift would be large, but I believe from what I've seen that your people are ready for such power." The image he was painting was far more grandiose than what he actually wanted, that being to either be left alone to research or to have the living finally contribute something, but it seemed to be working.

Yang shook her head and said "You would be a great salesman, you know that?" Naze nodded, and Yang looked to her sister, still weeping on her corpse. "You said that I could do anything with my time when I'm not doing what you say, right?" He nodded again, and she asked another question. "How long would I be serving you? I'm not going to be, like, trapped forever, right?" Naze shook his head and replied "You can leave whenever you want. Many have tired of their waking death, and I have let them sleep."

Yang turned back to Naze, looking him in the face, and said "What happens if I don't take this deal?" in an assertive but not quite threatening tone. Naze shrugged his shoulders and said "Than you would fade into the void and sleep. You might have the strength to stick around for a few years on your own, but you would fall to sleep eventually."

Minutes passed, Yang simply staring Naze in the face, scrutinizing every detail. He returned her gaze with a flat one of his own, waiting.

After a long while, Yang's shoulders dropped and she said "Alright, fine. I'll do it. Now put me back into my body." Naze shook his head again and said "I'm afraid it isn't that simple. I've got a plan, and I would like to follow it. I have to ask you for the most difficult thing you can give, and that is patience. Now isn't the right time, not yet. The moment will present itself soon enough."

She sighed, and Naze supposed that their business was concluded. He started to fade back into the Puppet, but Yang stopped him with one more question;

"Did you plan my death?"

He was quick to answer this one. "I did not. That you died when you did was an accident, and one that I sincerely hope proves to be fortunate for us both." Yang accepted this. Naze started to fade again into his puppet, but was again interrupted by Yang. "What am I supposed to do now?" She asked "Just wait around until you call me?"

Naze considered what she could do until it was time. There was nothing that she could do for him actively, but she could familiarize herself with the troop that Naze lead. "How do you feel about meeting your soon-to-be allies in death?"

It was Yang's turn to shrug her shoulders, and she said "I guess I might as well. Let's do it!" Naze smiled and started to pull her through the crystal of domination in his blade. She would be greeted warmly, and make a few friends, he was sure. Someone like her was bound to find at least a few new friends, even among the dead.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note:

So, things have happened so far, and I think it's pretty fair to ask: what do you think so far? Please, leave a review and tell me. I would love that.

In other news, I have a friend who is just starting to write. He's got a RWBY fic, and I figured I'd plug it.  
s/10802000/1/The-illusionist-of-Beacon

Tell me what you think!

* * *

Yang felt herself be pulled through the hilt of Naze's blade, and couldn't help but think of a light at the end of a tunnel. Experimentally, she tried to resist the pull, but it was like she was in a wind tunnel. There was no way that she was going to be able to stop herself from moving forward. She wouldn't want to even if she could. If Naze was able to do this, maybe he wasn't crazy. Maybe there was something to what he had said.

She stopped trying to resist, and instead walked towards the blade. Somewhere along the line she must have become smaller, because it seemed suddenly that she was actually in a dark corridor, a light shining brightly from the far end. Her feet weren't moving, and nor was the air around her. Despite her lack of movement, the light seemed to be growing closer. She started walking towards it, eager to see what was on the other side. Its approach sped up, until Yang realized that she was sprinting as hard as she could towards it. Her legs felt no strain or fatigue from it, and she smiled as she got the feeling that she could get used to this. Ruby's crying face echoed through her mind, wiping the smile from her face faster than anything else could. She redoubled her efforts to reach the light, to get to someplace she might help Ruby.

The light approached her, until it seemed that it was going to completely engulf her. She stopped just a second before she collided with it, and in that moment of hesitation a strong force seemed to encircle her and pull her through.

At first the light was blinding, but Yang quickly readjusted to the light. She found herself in a huge and dim room, with several sconces providing a flickering light across the walls and floor. A small shuffling sound behind her grabbed her attention, and she turned, gasping is surprise when her eyes fell on the thing before her.

A what was unmistakably a corpse, with withered limbs and barely any skin left, gazed back at her through empty eye sockets that burned with a bright blue light, as if the glint of intelligence that hid in some peoples' eyes had been magnified a thousandfold. The same blue energy seemed to shine through the rest of its body, showing in its chest, pushing through the somewhat thin and extremely worn robes that covered its body. The robes themselves were an extremely faded color that looked like at some point they might have been another color, but had since become only grey. A thick metal chain was across the corpse's chest, and at the end of the chain a heavy looking book dangled, covered in runes that looked like they were thousands of years old glowed brightly across the surface of the book, some even skittering across its surface quickly.

The corpse held two things in its hands, a long wooden staff with metal reinforcements running along its length and more runes inscribed on the wood. A sharp metal spike protruded from the tip of the staff, making it look ominously like a weapon. In its other hand was clutched an orb, perfectly rounded and with swirling clouds of what looked like smoke. Yang would've liked to examine the thing further, but her attention was more arrested by the body that was holding it. Most of its skin was gone, making its ribcage visible through its robes, and even its spine. The only skin that seemed to still be left on its body was around its face, dried and tight, the same color as old parchment. There wasn't enough to distract from the fact that its face was still a skull, but there was enough to make the skull just a little less disconcerting.

Yang was about to take a step towards the body when it moved. Its arms spread wide in a welcoming gesture, and its jaw started to work, a few stiff looking muscles contracting and relaxing making the appearance of a smile flit across the skeletal face. Its jaw worked as if it were speaking, and audible words followed behind the movements. "Welcome to my home. I hope you find it to your liking, Yang. There's something for everyone down in these halls."

Yang gave the body a confused look, saying "Who are…" before her eyes went wide and she exclaimed "Naze? No way! How are you… like that? What are you, even?" Naze's jaw worked again, and light laughter echoed off of the walls, holding an otherworldly quality, the source of the sound clearly not the same source of laughter as Yang was used to. Naze replied, stepping towards her and saying "I told you already, I've been around for a very long time. Did you think I was ethereal that whole time? No, I kept my body throughout the years. Things would've been quite difficult if I had been without a physical form all those years.'

Yang had too many questions to count, so she asked the first one that came to mind. "Speaking of bodies, when do I get mine back? I would really like to get back to Ruby, and Weiss, and Blake, and everyone else to let them know that I'm alright."

Naze cocked his head. "You are not "Alright" Yang. I don't know if you've fully grasped this yet, but you are dead. You have suffered the most grievous wound possible. And don't forget that you will only be returned to the flesh to serve me when I need you, anything else is secondary." He might've come off as slightly harsh with this statement, but it was accurate. It was a simple task, and would leave her large amounts of free time. Really, she was getting an astoundingly good deal.

Yang's spirit gave Naze an exasperated look and asked "Why do I have to wait? Why not just go back right now? That would be a pretty good first impression, just bringing me back right away!" Naze shook his head and said "No, you would be unable to do your job." She looked at him angrily, and he said before she could say anything "Answer me this; how might you expect to represent a group of individuals of you know nothing about them? If I were to put you back in your body right now, you would embrace your sister, and never leave her side again. Even if you were willing to leave your sister, she would never let you go. She would have to go through losing you a second time. Would you want that? Give her time. Keep your distance. Let her come to peace with your death. Otherwise when you are called to business, it would only he twisting the knife."

Yang didn't want to acknowledge the reason in his words, but she found that it was impossible to remain angry in the face of his argument. He didn't stop however, and gave more reasons. "And beyond that, there are other things that need to be prepared. You lost an arm, remember? Functioning with half of your manipulative appendages is difficult. There are people here who could make you a new one. Better than your arm was before, too. You'll lose a few of your abilities as well. Your semblance, you would call it, so your body would have to be reinforced otherwise. In the meantime, you can spend some time around here. Make some friends. Learn some magic if you really want to make up for the loss of your semblance, that will be easier now that you're dead."

Yang gave him a confused look and asked "Wait, what? Why would learning magic be easier now?" Naze nodded and said "Some parts of magic depends on someone's flexibility with their soul, the amount of power they are able to throw around, which determines a more natural knack for magic. What better way to get more weight to swing around than disconnect from anything holding you down? Of course, that's a good way to drain the rest of your power and speed your way to the void. Going into the void wouldn't be too much of an issue, though, as I could just pull you out when the time comes. I would at least recommend that you try and learn something while you're here. Maybe you even have enough energy to cast a few practice spells."

Yang tilted her head and asked the question "What do you mean by "a few spells"? You are really going to have to start explaining a little more if you really want me to know what I'm talking about when I'm repping you out there." Naze made a physical motion that was similar to what she imagined a full body eye roll would look like. After this was done he waved a near skeletal hand towards her and said "Bah, I've have no patience for teaching the basics. Come back to me after a couple of decades of study, than we can talk. Until then, there are many others here who would gladly show you what they know."

He made a motion towards the large open archway behind him and put his other hand out in front of him, the small glowing orb floating a few inches off of his palm. "Now go, leave me. I've many things to prepare for our grandiose reveal. Go and find something to do until then, I'm certain you will find something."

Yang stared disbelievingly at his back for a second before shaking her head clear and coming to grips with what had just occurred. She had died, become a ghost, been recruited to be the PR department of a giant group of undead researchers, and had a very uninformative conversation with someone who she thought she knew who turned out to be a several hundred thousand year old wizard. Or at least, something like that. And now she was given free rein to do whatever she wanted in what she presumed to be the people's main base.

She was sure that if she still had a stomach, she would've felt nauseous. It was all just so bizarre, she wasn't sure that she could cope with such dramatic changes. It didn't seem that she had much choice in the matter, though, as Naze was still turned around, focused on the orb above his hand. She could practically feel the importance of the item radiating off of it. There was no way Naze would be focusing on it so intently if it wasn't something important.

She shook her head again. Finding out someone you thought you knew was actually a corpse old enough to be a major archeological find was something of a jarring experience. She didn't want to think about the other things that she might have been mistaken about. Just how much of what she thought she knew was true? If he had assumed a body that looked alive, why couldn't he do the same with his personality?

She pushed the thoughts from her head. She trusted Naze enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he had said that part of the reason he had made to offer he had was some personal atonement for in some part causing her death. That showed that he at least was somewhat compassionate. Again she pushed the thoughts from her head, and started walking towards the exit to the large room. As she walked, she looked to her feet. They were white, almost mist in the dim light of the room. She wondered if she could do anything that she had been unable to do before, and experimentally kicked a leg up as far as she could.

Her foot traveled in an arc, first going above her waist, than over her shoulders, than over her head, than where it would have stopped as her knee hit her chest, the leg seemed to melt into the rest of her form. She gasped, looking at the stump where her leg had been seconds before. It didn't feel like she had lost anything, and she was having no issue balancing on the other leg. An idea occurred to her, and she kicked her remaining leg up as well. Just like the first one, it melded into the rest of her. She was still several feet off the ground, and felt no sign of falling. She laughed to herself. She must've looked ridiculous.

She tried to keep moving forward, and sure enough, she did. Without legs to carry her, it seemed that the mere will to move forward was enough. She leaned back into a more relaxed position. If moving around was this easy, she wasn't sure what kind of mischief she would get into. She immediately became aware of something else, too. Her change in posture had offered no difference in how she felt. In fact, now that she thought about it, she couldn't feel much of anything. She put her hands together and pushed them against one another. There was resistance, but it didn't register like it should have. Her hands felt nothing, the only real feeling she got was that there was something blocking her hands. Not even that was something she would describe as a "physical" feeling. It was more like a twinge at the back of her head.

She tried stretching her arms. Beyond her arms becoming fully extended, there was no feeling. No muscles tensing up or relaxing, no bones being pushed or pulled, and no blood being pumped like she was used to. It was then that she realized why all this was happening. She didn't have a body anymore. She gave a shiver as the somewhat uncomfortable thought panged in her mind. That was a lot of things that she would never experience again.

She suddenly felt very small. The silence that now pervaded over everything else seemed almost crushing. Tentatively, Yang brought her legs back and started walking again, trying to take comfort in the familiar action. She met with limited success.

She exited the large room and entered into a wide hallway outside. She walked for what felt like hours in the dimly lit corridors, shadows occasionally flickering off the smooth stone bricks and leaping at her. Each time she jolted back, and each time found herself in another position that she would've thought impossible. First it had been one leg inside of the other, then it had been both arms penetrating her chest, than a fist through her head. She stopped for a moment and closed her eyes, hopping that some facet of inner peace had survived where every other thing she usually counted on had failed. What she found when she turned her gaze inward was something strange.

If she had ever tried to describe it, she would've failed miserably. There were simply no words that could properly convey what it was. If she had ever tried, though, she would've said that it was like a yawning chasm, but small, contained in one point. The more she looked at it, the stranger she felt. It was like the feeling that she got just a second before she fell asleep. She was about to move towards the thing when she remembered what Naze had said to her before. "Then you would fade into the void and sleep. You might have the strength to stick around for a few years on your own, but you would fall to sleep eventually."

The thing was the void that Naze had spoken of. Surely, without a doubt. It had to be. It did make her feel tired, and there was unquestionably a force pulling her towards it. The pull was light, and she almost didn't even notice, but it was there. She snapped herself back to full alertness and gazed again at it, this time with a critical eye. Patterns like waves washed over the point's surface, and she was sure that she could see faces in them. Every time a face appeared tough, it disappeared just as fast.

Yang didn't know how long she spent in that corridor, eyes closed and simply staring at the thing. What brought her back to her immediate surroundings was a slow shuffling creeping up behind her. She shook her arms, reassuring herself that she could still move, before turning to face the source of the sound. At first she had expected it to be Naze, but the figure was much too hunched and didn't look at all the same.

"Hello?" she called out to it, hoping that it might answer and help her. What instead happened was that it continued its slow gait towards her, not reacting at all. She moved towards it, and was taken aback when she found it to be a desiccated corpse, shambling like a zombie through the halls. She ran a hand in front of its white and faded eyes, again saying "Hello?"

It didn't respond, instead continuing to walk forward. Yang kept her hand in place, hoping to force the thing to react, but it simply moved through her, its head passing though her hand like it wasn't even there. Yang felt something boil up inside of her. Something hot. She was afraid, yes, but she wasn't just going to lay down and take it. "Hey! Help me!" she shouted as loud as she possibly could. Whether because of the volume or the nature of her command, Yang didn't care, the cadaver responded, stopping its walk and turning slowly to look at her with its unfocused eyes.

She was about to speak to the thing when a shadow seemed to settle over her and a voice echoed through her head, loud enough that she would've believed someone was speaking right next to her. It was Naze's, and he said "What the hell are you doing out there? You aren't a banshee, so quit screaming."

Yang looked around her for a brief moment to ensure that the source of the voice was in her own head before thinking in reply "Can you… help me get somewhere? The corridors and stuff are kind of starting to freak me out." A few seconds of silence passed, and Yang could practically feel the annoyance. A small voice, slightly different from the first said "This is why dealing with fresh spirits is a bad idea" before immediately being covered by the first voice, saying "Why? You can't be hurt by anything, just go. You don't need to take your time, just speed through the corridors. You have figured out that you can do that, right?"

Yang was never one to cover a weakness, but there was something in the tone of his voice that made it seem like he thought she was an idiot. "Yes, of course I have, it's just that the darkness is a little unnerving." Naze's response was quick, and the disbelief in his tone was obvious. "Right, of course. Well just pick a direction and go, you will come to someone eventually. They might have time to give you directions."

The voice stopped, and the presence faded. She was left alone again in the darkness, not any les lost that she had been before. The zombie behind her groaned, and she turned to face it again. It was still looking at her, like it was waiting for something. She spoke hesitantly to it, saying "Do you think you could show me where the nearest people are?" she asked in a hopeful voice. It kept staring at her blankly, and she thought back to how she had gotten it to do what she wanted the first time. "Show me where the nearest people are." She spoke in a commanding voice, but it faltered, showing her unease. If the zombie noticed, it gave no sign. Instead, it turned slowly and pointed short shriveled finger at a wall. She was about to ask it what that meant before she reminded herself of the futility of trying to actually converse. Just before she was going to command it lead her, an idea popped into her head. She was a ghost, and she didn't know a lot about ghosts, but she was pretty sure…

She stepped over to the wall being indicated, and put a hand out to it. As first it acted just like she expected it to, but as she imagined her hand going through the wall, it did so. Slowly at first, than it was like there was nothing there at all. One hand in the wall, Yang looked back again at the zombie, taking note of the angle its finger pointed at. Slightly upwards. She nodded to herself and turned back to the wall, a look of determination coming across her face. She started moving through the solid stone,. At first it was dark, but she was quick to adapt to the lack of light. Somehow she was still able to see, but all that this ability reviled to her was rocks and pebbles zipping past.

She continued like this for what again felt like minutes, until eventually she came to another smooth stone brick wall. She stopped just before it, feeling anxious as to what she would find on the other side. Slowly, she started to move through the wall, the same way that she had through the first on. She melded through the bricks, and as she completely melded through the wall, she was shocked to find herself hovering far over the ground.

She was hanging about forty feet off of the ground. She jolted back halfway through the wall before she remembered that she could fly. She edged back out of the wall, gazing down at the floor far below. At first she couldn't tell what the floor was made of. It heaved and moved and glowed in an almost alien way. Then she realized what the floor was. Molten magma glowered up at her, spitting huge jets of flaming gas and globs of the viscous material upwards towards her.

Yang cast her gaze to the rest of the room, trying very hard to ignore the bright and distracting molten rock beneath her. She saw various constructions crisscrossing in the air above the lava, mostly connected by wiry-looking scaffolds and bridges. The unmistakable shapes of hundreds of forges lined the walls at varying heights. Anvils and other smiting equipment were scattered around on the catwalks, just waiting to be used. She couldn't help but think how much Ruby would love this place. The things that her sister could make here…

Well, if it were not probably blisteringly hot and brimming with toxic fumes. She wouldn't know, of course, she couldn't feel the heat coming from the magma, nor could she smell what she was sure smelled foul and sulfurous. Something else caught her attention too. Figures moved along the catwalks and forges, all coming into direct contact with the substance that Yang knew was hot enough to destroy almost anything alive. She reminded herself that she would likely not find anything alive in the tunnels and rooms, and started to approach them.

As she got closer and closer, she realized more about them. They were burned, charred corpses, all walking around and doing things, but not like the zombie she had met outside. They were moving with a purpose, and seemed to be much more conscious. They also all seemed to be helping one other charred individual standing in front of one of the largest forges, carrying varying hunks of metal of varying size to it. Yang floated towards that one, if she had to guess, she would say that it was probably the one in charge of the forges.

As she approached, a few of the undead seemed to notice her, waving if they had a free hand, and one handed its load of metal off to another before breaking into a clumsy sprint across the catwalk back towards the one she presumed to be the leader. She watched it go, somewhat mesmerized with the speed at which the red, burned, and blackened mixture of flesh and bone could move. As it ran she took note of what its general body structure was; its lower half seemed to be mostly skeletal, with metal joints and bolts holding it together while also providing movement. Its flesh started at about its waistline, and seemed only to comprise of flesh burned beyond all recognition. Further but its chest the skin seemed to flatten into something closer to what Yang would consider "normal" but was still a greatly reddened mess. They looked like they would have been first degree burns. The person's arms were a different story; at about elbow point, the flesh again disappeared, replaced again by bone and metal mechanisms. Its head was bald, whether it was from the heat or not Yang couldn't tell. Its face looked like the thing most untouched by the scorching heat, covered only in blackened soot and ash.

As the thing reached the leader, another jet of fiery material shot up from the molten floor, engulfing both undead in heated earth. Yang stopped for a moment, certain that both individuals had just been destroyed, but let her jaw drop as the magma dropped back through the wiry bottom of the catwalk. Both corpses simply gave themselves hearty shakes, sending smaller flecks of the still glowing material flying. Yang noticed something that she hadn't seen at first. Small runes were etched into their skin and bones as several points, like tattoos. The marks on the two who had just been covered in lava were glowing almost as brightly as the lava itself.

The one that had started running to its leader reached them, and tapped them on the shoulder before starting to speak, pointing a skeletal finger in Yang's direction. The one at the forge looked, and its manner seemed to lift as it looked up at her. She paused, waiting to see what it did.

It waved her to come closer to her, gangly arm flailing in the air. She did, and when she got within a few feet of the figure she got a very good look at it. It was a masculine figure, so she assumed that it was a man. His skin was red, and his eyes were sunken deep into his skull. His eyes themselves were black and glimmered with a light that Yang thought reminded her of a few educational videos she had seen back at Signal Academy when she was training there that had given a visualization of what scientists thought someone's aura would look like if it was simply removed from the body. This thought was pushed out of the way as he moved to the side and motioned towards the forge he had been working on. She looked past him, and saw something that she wasn't sure what it was.

It looked like it was a mock-hand, with the tendons replaced with wires, and the skin replaced with a thick metal frame. The frame only about a fourth of the way done, leaving much of the inside still open. Numerous mechanisms inside of the hand sat still, waiting to move. The ghoul took the hand in his and started walking towards the distant exit to the room. Yang asked "What's going on? Can you tell me what that is?"

The ghoul continued to walk, not reacting to her question. Yang was about to ask again, when it occurred to her that they were in a very loud place. The rolling magma and jets of fumes created a huge amount of background noise that she most likely would have noticed, if she had had her ears to alert her. As it was, the huge roar had simply been ignored because she hadn't cared about it. She didn't have much choice other than to follow the ghoul.

It was minutes before the two reached the stairs of the catwalk that led back up to the exit. They walk up them, and entered the hallway outside of the massive forge. Now free of the roaring of the earth and iron, the ghoul looked to Yang and said in a throaty voice "Hello! You must be the one Naze picked to represent us, right?" He looked her misty form over before saying "I'd shake your hand, but…" His gaze shifted to the mechanical hand clutched by his fingers, and a wry smile came across his face. He held the item out to her and said "Here, use this."

Yang looked from his face to the half-finished hand and back again, a confused expression on her face. The man across from her rolled his eyes and said "Put your damn hand in the other hand." She did as she was told, and was rewarded with a strange sensation. It was like when her incorporeal hand touched the metal of the mock-hand, it soaked into it. She gave a few experimental twitches, and the wires responded, pulling the framework of the fingers closed.

She said quietly to herself "Whoa…" and leaned in close, getting a better look at it. The ghoul wrapped its fingers around the metal ones and gently shook the hand, holding it up on his own. "There now." he said "My name is Brazen. Resident Forge Master. Best and oldest blacksmith here. I make the weapons and armor, along with other things. Making your hand." He held the hand up again for her to see again.

Yang pulled her hand from the mechanical one, again noting how strange if felt for a part of her to simply materialize. She looked from her own hand to the mechanical one, comparing the two. The mechanical hand looked like it was going to be completely identical to her old one. She didn't know how such precision was possible, especially for one who had never even seen her hand. Her face must have shown her feeling, because Brazen gave a raspy laugh and said "Naze gave me the measurements. Quite a memory on him, no denying that."

Yang noted the casual nature that Brazen used Naze's name. She would've thought that someone resurrected by him would show a little more respect. She would be in that category soon. She decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. "Is there a way that we are supposed to address him? Like, I don't know, a title or something?" Brazen waved a hand dismissively and said "No, he doesn't care. As long as you show respect, you can call him anything. As for a title, he does have one. He didn't pick it, of course, but I think he likes it: Naze the Eternal." Brazen shrugged his shoulders and said "I suppose it's got a ring." Brazen shook his head, twitching a few times in the process before clapping his hands together and saying "I doubt you're here for small talk, though. You should go around, get to know the others." He gestured behind him "The number of smiths is small in comparison to the others; researchers and the like. Make friends with them first."

Brazen turned to leave, but Yang said "Wait!" in a worried tone. Brazen stopped and turned, giving her a puzzled look. "I uh… don't really know my way around. Do you think you could help me? Or at least get someone who can?" Brazen looked down at the mechanical hand, muttering something about a schedule that he had to keep to, than looked around him in the hall. His eyes fixed on something she couldn't see a far distance away, and Yang was about to ask him what he was looking at when she noticed them.

A pair a softly glowing eyes suspended a few feet off of the ground. Brazen motioned for them to come closer, and in a sudden flurry of movement the eyes rushed towards them, a smoky form not too unlike Yang's own twisting behind them. The shadowy figure came to a dead stop a few feet from them, focusing on Brazen. Brazen motioned to Yang and said "Take her to Azrile, he's done this introduction more times than I." The shadowy form nodded, and out of its vaguely humanoid shape a long arm and spindly, spiderlike fingers sprouted. It held its hand out to Yang in a somewhat theatrical fashion, and she put hers in its hesitantly. It started to lead her off down the corridor. Brazen waved and cried "See you around, Yang! Do a good job!"

"Simple advice." she muttered to herself "Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

* * *

The Bullhead touched down, and snapped Naze's attention away from the budding network of shades that would be his eyes and ears in upcoming political affairs. His mind returned to the puppet, and to the dismal conditions inside the cabin.

Ruby still clung to Yang's body, despite several halfhearted attempts by her teammates to remove her. No more tears ran from her eyes, but Naze would've been astounded if they had. The girl had probably dehydrated herself. Her eyes were half open and glazed over, and she rocked steadily back and forth with each breath. Most of her clothing was covered in blood. Who most of it belonged to could certainly be debated, and if it were than the two leading candidates would be either her sister or the Grimm that had slain her. Either way, her cloak was now a much deeper shade of red, along with the rest of her wardrobe.

She sat on the floor, in a pool of her sister's blood that had leaked from her wounds, namely the severed arm. At some point during the flight, the viscous fluid had started to dry and coagulate, becoming like a thick sticky paste. She stared ahead of her blankly, her eyes occasionally flicking over to her sister's unmoving face, than resuming their study of the air in front of them.

The other two girls weren't much better. Blake had a hand on Ruby's back, rubbing her back and trying to whisper comforts to her. Ruby didn't react to any of her words, only continuing to stare blankly ahead. Weiss sat across from her, not sure what to say. What could she say? She hadn't gotten along incredibly well with Ruby or Yang, in spite of considering them her best friends, maybe even family. She didn't know anything that she could say that would help her friend. Instead she remained silent.

They didn't seem to have noticed the Bullhead touching down. Naze stood from his seat and moved towards the doors in the side of the Bullhead, waiting for them to slide open. The girls still didn't react, so he said "I think we're here."

Ruby and Blake looked up at him blankly before returning to their respective actions. Weiss was the only one who did anything, standing and getting up to lend a hand to Ruby, offering to help her up. The speakers in the sides of the bulkhead clicked into life, and the pilot said "We have arrived back at Beacon. Medical teams are waiting to receive your wounded. Doors opening-" the thick metal doors slid open, letting fresh air flood the cabin and revealing a team of white-clad individuals, all bearing medical supplies "-good luck." the pilot finished. The medics gazed at the scene inside of the Bullhead with slightly dumbstruck expressions. Naze knew that they had their work cut out for them, not only with giving whatever treatment they thought might help Yang, but also with prying Ruby away from the corpse.

Naze stepped down onto the stone pavement, removing himself from the way of the medics. Weiss did the same, knowing that giving the professionals space was the only thing she could do to help. The medics streamed into the Bullhead, and started talking to each other in very concerned voices. After a few moments both Ruby and Blake were ushered out of the vehicle, Blake holding Ruby's shoulders tightly and still whispering to her. Ruby strained against Blake's hold, but lacked the strength to break free. One of the medics approached the pair and shepherded them away from the scene towards one of the buildings that dotted the edge of the airstrip. Weiss was herded away next, and he was the last to receive an escort from the scene.

The medic assigned to take him kept putting an arm around Naze's shoulder, like she was trying to offer him comfort. He continually shrugged her off, but she was diligent in insisting that he needed support. He ignored her, and walked on his own towards the same building that the others were being ushered to.

It wasn't long before Naze found himself in a sterile white room, sitting on top of a medical bed. Several doctors had already tried to take some reading of his vital signs; either trying to hook him up to a machine or trying to take his pulse. He knew this would only confuse an already chaotic situation, and prevented them from doing so, insisting that he was fine. His major concern now was more towards Ozpin, and how he might react. Naze was a unique student, and one that now had a track record of a teammate dying on a mission. Such things tended to look very bad on résumés. Would he blame Naze? Unlikely, but certainly possible.

He sat in this room, waiting, for about two hours before the door opened. He was about to tell the doctor or nurse to find something more useful to do than bother him, when he recognized the brown shoes of the headmaster himself. Ozpin walked through the door, a solemn expression on his face. As he entered the room, he took a sip of coffee from the mug in his left hand and put some weight on the cane in his right. Naze regarded him with a cold look, waiting for him to say whatever he had come to say.

Without speaking a word, Ozpin walked over to the other side of the room, grabbing a spare chair from a table in the corner, and walked back to the side of the bed, sliding the chair in front of him and taking a seat. Naze lifted an eyebrow. Ozpin looked up to him and heaved a heavy sigh before saying in a tired voice "It never gets any easier. Never becomes any less painful."

Naze could guess what he was talking about, but decided to play dumb. "What never get easier, Sir?" he asked, his voice as innocent as he could manage. Ozpin took a long sip from his coffee, studying Naze's face as he did so. When he finished, he rested the mug and his hand in his lap and said "Please, don't humor me. Not like this, anyways. You knew precisely what I'm talking about." Naze obliged, letting the worried expression on his face drop in favor of a neutral one. He replied "You're right, of course. The loss is regrettable."

Ozpin shook his head and said quietly, almost to himself "That girl… such a bright future ahead of her… so much good she might have done. I think regrettable is a dramatic understatement." He then looked back up to Naze and said "But that is not what I would like to talk about. What I would like to talk about is the other things that happened during the mission. For instance; all three of the members of the team insist that before the main confrontation with the Grimm that ended her life, Yang was attacked by a "walking corpse". This corpse was described as partially decomposed, and to have a necrotic effect on flesh that touched it, namely Yang's fist." His eyes narrowed, and he asked "Do you know what this creature was, or where it came from?"

Naze considered the question for a moment. Perhaps it would be beneficial to reveal his true nature to the man in advance of the rest of the world finding out. He seemed wise enough to take the information without much of a dramatic response. He replied in a slow, measured voice. "Yes, I do."

Ozpin's eyes narrowed even more, and he leaned forward, asking "What was it? Why was it there and how did it get there?" Naze answered in the same measured voice, saying "It was exactly as you said: a partially rotted corpse, animate and aggressive. It was there to provide a deterrent to those who might seek to intrude into the swamp. As to how it got there… I could say that it walked, but I assume you mean the question more in the way of its origin. I put it there, perhaps several hundred, or maybe even thousands of years ago. It was mummified by bog conditions, then reanimated to provide extra hazard to the swamp, discouraging intrusion by those who might seek to disturb me and my ilk."

Ozpin's eyes widened, and he said "What? What do you…" He stopped, looking to the floor, his eyes darting back and forth as he thought. Naze figured that he would save him the trouble of asking several of the questions he was bound to, speaking out first. "I lost count of my exact age around five or six hundred thousand years. I and my people have slept for a very long time, and none of us are quite sure how expansive that period of time has been. Now we've reawakened, and are ready to resume our work." Ozpin raised an eyebrow, but Naze continued "We are… researchers of a sort. I value knowledge over all else, and recruit others who share that interest. The time that undeath grants is used for the accumulation of knowledge of all kinds." Naze stood from the bed, and started to pace. "With our reveal, I hope to build some goodwill between our people, and encourage peaceful relations. There have been incidents in the past where our existence was not taken well, and war declared on us. I would advise you to not encourage such a course of action. It would be a war you cannot win."

Ozpin also stood, and stopped Naze by putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked deep into Naze's eyes and asked "Are you telling me the truth? How can I believe that you are that powerful?" Naze shrugged Ozpin's hand off and said "Look to the anomaly in the air above the swamp. It has, without fail, prevented air travel over the swamp for as long as air has been available to travel. Then, without any discernable reason, a Bullhead is able to fly all the way to center to pick up five teens. I was among them. I was the one who deactivated the ward making such travel impossible."

Ozpin turned his back to Naze, a hand on his chin. "How-" Naze cut him off, knowing what this question would be. "In-between my falling asleep and waking up, it seems that quite a bit has happened; the living forgot everything about magic, demons isolated themselves in hell, the moon shattered, things have been interesting in my absence."

Ozpin only looked more surprised. "Magic? Demons?" He shook his head and put a finger to his temple. "I'm afraid that you are going to have to do a little more thorough job of explaining." Naze nodded, a smile coming across his face. "Gladly, but first we have to agree on something; everything that is discussed between us is to remain that way until I reveal myself and my people to the public. Is that understood?" Ozpin nodded, and Naze's smile widened. "Good, now, let me tell you about something called a mage…"

* * *

Yang looked around her in awe. There were thousands, maybe millions of books, all sitting mundanely on huge shelves that stretched almost as far as the eye could see. Countless numbers of corpses were shuffling around, seated at tables reading, or organizing the shelves using ladders stories tall that seemed to move of their own volition. The shade that had guided her here dropped her hand from its, and pointed to a bleached white skeleton at the middle of the room. Yang moved towards the skeleton, examining it as she went. It wore thick silken robes, draped over its hollow frame and hanging loose on the floor. In addition to the robes it wore, there were also thick rolls of parchment wrapped around several places like sashes. Symbols glowed on these sashes, and Yang thought she recognized a few from Naze's sword.

She approached the skeleton, feeling somewhat nervous as she did so. How old was this thing? Was it a male or female? What was she supposed to ask it? Questions darted through her mind faster than she could comprehend, when suddenly the skeleton looked towards her and beckoned. She approached, and the skeleton's jaw started to move, reminding her of Naze, and a deep reverberating voice came not from the skull, but more from deep in the skeletons chest. It said "Welcome, child. You are the one chosen as an ambassador, are you not?" She nodded mutely, and it continued "Good. I look forward to seeing how well the living take to magic now. Now then, what can I help you with? Are you looking for a tome?" he gestured around to the uncountable books, many of which looked thicker than any book she had ever touched in her life.

She shrugged her shoulders and said "I… I don't really know. Naze told me to get to know the people around here, and Brazen told me to come here, so I did…" Her voice tapered off as she looked around again. There were so many books. Blake would love it here. She could probably spend hundreds of years doing nothing but reading, and not run out of books.

The skeleton nodded sagely and said "It was probably wise of him. Brazen can be… eccentric at times." He put a hand to his chest, and lake noticed the joints of its arms that would normally be held together by muscle and sinew were instead bound by some softly glowing force. "I am Azrile, the greatest scribe and enchanter that currently walks the earth. But you don't want to learn about me, do you? No, mine is a fairly boring story. Born into a high family, spent my life learning, than died. Nothing terribly spectacular."

Yang shrugged her shoulders and said "Actually, I am supposed to learn about all of you. How else am I supposed to represent you? It would be hard if I didn't know anything." Azrile stroked his chin with his boney fingers before saying "I suppose you're right. But merely talking is not enough. You could be here years before you form an accurate opinion that way. Instead, there is a book for you."

The skeleton started to walk away, and motioned for her to follow. She did, and it wasn't long before she and her guide came to a plinth set aside from the other books. It wasn't like the other books that she had seen. Instead, it bore a striking resemblance to the book that Naze had attached to his person. She was hesitant to go near it. It seemed to radiate a strange vibration. Azrile touched it without hesitation, brushing a finger across the cover and watching as the cover opened of its own accord, coming to rest on the flat platform it sat on.

Azrile stepped back and made a gesture to the book, saying "It is a copy of our lord's own personal record. In it is every moment that he has ever experienced. What better way to learn about a cause that to experience its creation?" He turned and walked away, saying over his shoulder "After you're done with that, come and seek me out. I may be able to show you a few spells before you are called upon to make contact with the living."

Yang waved weakly to the corpse slowly walking away before turning back to the plinth and gazing disbelievingly at the book in front of her. Was he being serious? Would she really be able to experience everything Naze had? It was exactly what she needed. A strange-feeling energy started to burn inside her, and she felt more energized then she had in a long time, even when she was alive. Reaching forward with a cautious hand, she took hold of the cover page and turned it, feeling relieved as the physical object reacted to her touch, and revealing lines upon lines of burning symbols.

She leaned in closer, and felt something start to push on her mind. She was resilient at first, but slowly let it in, and was surprised to find an expanse of memories she wasn't sure were hers flood into her mind.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's note:

Oh man, Naze backstory. That is one thing I am kind of unsure about, so if you could leave some feedback on that, it would be greatly appreciated. Other than that, just the usual tlel me what you thought kind of stuff. Thanks for reading!

* * *

An immense pressure started to push against Yang's mind as she looked at the symbols on the page, and she felt the world around her start to shiver and fade in a very peculiar way. She had never felt anything quite like it before. It was disconcerting, and she lost her bearings very quickly under the force. Her head spun, and she was pulled out of the world into another experience.

.

He sat alone in the small hut he called a home, hunched over the heavy book, trying to parse the draconic symbols that he knew coalesced into some kind of comprehensible information. It was slow going, but he found it far more enjoyable than working fields or hunting. He didn't have the build for those things. A fact that he was constantly reminded of by everyone else in the village. He wasn't quite a runt, but he had been stricken with sickness most of his childhood, and as a result was much weaker than the rest of the men in his village.

He lived alone, and much preferred it that way. He could hardly stand the company of others, even on the best of days. He didn't know if it was a result of his isolation, or some twist of fate, but he seemed to be the only one in his village who placed any value on knowledge, save for the elder. But it was the Elder's job to be intelligent, and to smooth the relations between his people and their great overlords.

The Elder told stories of a time when humanity had been strong and powerful, had ruled over the earth as the only force strong enough to not only push nature back, but to dominate it. The rule of man had been fruitful, and people had lived lives replete with leisure and freedom. This eroded the strength that had been so built up, and soon humanity fell weak again. This weak time had been the point of a new age, at least so the Elder said. He said that this was when another kind came into being. The Elder didn't know what they were called, but they had risen, and tried to take mankind's place. Humanity fought back, and soon enough grew strong again, repelling their attackers.

According to the Elder, this had happened numerous times. Humanity rose and fell in great arcs, until one time they didn't rise again. They were defeated by a race stronger than them. The Basilisk, strange versions of the lizards that he was sometimes forced to eat when no other food arose that were a head and a half taller than the tallest man, had claimed man's world, and forced them into the dirt and mud. Content not to drive man to extinction, the Basilisk now lorded over them with a scaly fist. Able bodies were taken when they were needed for their great constructions, and rare was the day when any returned. Those who did spoke of sprawling cities of grand stone, pearly white and glistening in the light of the sun, and of towers so high that they seemed to gouge the heavens deep wounds that seeped white clouds.

He doubted these claims, of course, but he supposed that there was nothing that he could do to refute them, other than get sent to the constructions himself. A fate that he was keen on avoiding. Those who returned spoke of whips of flame used on those who didn't work their fill. While that was something he was eager to avoid, it was also something that he wished he could see. Occasionally the Basilisk guards who looked over his village threw roaring balls of fire at those who disobeyed orders. This usually resulted in the death of whoever the ball was aimed towards, but it was a sight that he never looked away from. As morbid and callus as it might've seemed, he looked forward to it every time.

He had paid astute detail to every detail he could during these events, and had noticed a few things. Every time one of the guards (or sentries, as they called themselves) threw one such projectile, they assumed a wide stance, and controlled their breathing much more heavily. He himself had tried a few times to achieve similar results through imitation of these technique, but had been rewarded only by disappointing nothingness.

And now he sat in the darkness of his home, trying to read a language he knew almost nothing about. The book that he had gotten he had stolen from the Elder, who read it aloud to everyone during weekly town meetings. Everyone who heard it knew it by heart, and he used this to his advantage.

"The mighty Basilisk have overpowered our armies in the past, and they will not hesitate to do so again. Under their mighty weight humanity will be crushed at the first sign of an uprising, for it is through their grace and mercy that we still exist. In return for life, all that is asked is complete cooperation, and refusal to give this will result in the taking of your life…" and so on and so on. The text went on to speak of the strength of the Basilisks being given by their gods, and about how the gods of the Basilisk had destroyed the gods if the humans.

He might not know how to read, but he could figure it out if he knew what it said. He was sure of it.

Certain combinations of certain figures meant certain things. It was a mystery what figures meant what, and how they combined, but he had only just started. He would figure it out, if he gave it enough work. He was sure of it.

A knock on his door made him jump, and he hurriedly tossed the book under a pile of refuse before bolting to his feet. He knew that it wasn't a Basilisk at his door, they didn't knock, but it was still a strange occurrence that anyone come calling for him.

He opened the door, and found a girl with long, brown hair and fit frame looking back at him. Her green eyes almost shone with a bright caring for others, but her stature was hunched and heavy, beaten down from seeing too many people suffer. She was the closest thing that the village had to a doctor. Whenever someone was hurt or sick, she was the first to come to their aid. Her name was Valery. She had a natural aversion to him on account of his introverted and unsympathetic personality, but that didn't stop her from occasionally trying to make friends with him. The urgent look in her face told him that this was not the reason for her visit, and this was affirmed when her melodic voice rang through the dismal silence.

"Naze, we need you at the town center. It's serious." He raised an eyebrow, but Valery was having no delay. She reached out in an attempt to grab Naze's hand and pull him with her, but he stepped back, avoiding her. "I'm afraid I'll need a little more detail than that." he said in a suspicious tone. He was called down to the village center from time to time to help the fools puzzle out matters of reason and common sense. They had never been this desperate, though.

Valery gave him a pleading look and cried "Naze, please! I know you have issues with us, but I really think we need you!" He crossed his arms and leaned back, making his message clear. Valery gave a frustrated grunt and looked around her quickly before saying quickly "Someone in a village to the east found a book, and they can read it! They are asking for anyone who can to go and help them with it. They say that it could help us to free ourselves! We need to know what you think!"

If it were a lie, it was either an awful one or a damn good one. Naze felt his whole body prick up at the thought. A book they could read? He could be executed for even touching the book that he had, let alone read it. If there was a book that could be read easily, he would take any risk to get to it.

He motioned for Valery to lead the way, now thoroughly interested. She took off quickly towards the village, and Naze plodded along behind her. As he did so, he thought about the east. The bog that his village was located in was not fertile for many organized crops, but apparently the east was different. After several days of travel, the thick mud and muck of the swamp turned to arid sand and cutting winds. The villages in that area were much larger than his because they received some support from the Basilisks. It was barely enough for the population to grow, but all they had to do in return was tend spice plants that didn't grow anywhere but in the desert. Where they would've found a book was a mystery, but Naze hoped that he would find out soon enough.

It wasn't long before he entered the middle ring and center of the town, moonlight guiding the pair on their way. Naze's eyes flicked to the side in the direction of the guard tower that overlooked the village. The bright flame still burned at its tip, and he thought he saw a few moving shadows of the foul guards in the windows. He didn't have much disdain for them, but most other people wished nothing more than to see that guard tower topple. He didn't share this desire, but he could certainly understand it. His house, distant from the town in comparison to everyone else's, afforded him much more freedom than others closer to the village had. He wasn't too bothered by the actions of the guards, at least not directly. He wished he could be free of the effect they had on society, oppressing the acquisition of knowledge. All he really wanted to do was learn. By whose grace he didn't particularly care.

Valery shouldered the door in front of her open and walked inside of the large log longhouse that served to provide a meeting place in times of trouble or crisis, as well as when orders from their overlords had to be doled out. As Naze followed the girl in, he noted that the usually packed rows of rough wooden benches were all empty.

At the front of the longhouse was the Elder of the village. He had a thin piece of parchment in his old and veiny hands, and was looking over it, his fingers trembling. Valery called out to him, but he put a finger over his lips and looked up from the letter, motioning for them to come closer. Valery practically sprinted to the man's side, but Naze was much less eager. He wanted the book, not a conversation with an old man.

Naze walked to his side, looking at the letter over his shoulder. It was written in the same letters that he had tried to read earlier, and seemed just as incomprehensible. The elder looked up into Naze's face in-between glances down at the paper, making sure that he was reading it correctly. His old voice waivered under the strain of speaking, but he did it all the same as he read the letter aloud.

"My fellow leaders, we of the village Golden Sands require aid. We have discovered something that may be the key to becoming powerful, and to freeing ourselves. We have discovered a tome that can be read by all, and contains the knowledge of how to defeat death itself. We must request the best that you can spare, and we must define who the best are."

He took a deep breath and continued "Physical strength seems to have little to no effect on the effect of the learning. Instead, it seems that understanding of the material is the most important thing. We beg of you, please send any help that can be spared. The best interests of not only our lives hang in the balance, but those of our children, and our children's children. I hope that this plea does not fall on deaf ears."

Both Valery and the Elder looked to Naze, a look that he had never seen before in their eyes. Was that…respect or angst? They both continued looking at her, until Valery said "Look, there's no beating around the bush here. You are more or less the smartest person in the village. You've been treated... not well, but I really hope that you at least consider it."

The Elder nodded and said "There are several others we will send as well. This is more than we have asked of you before, but I ask you now, will you lead our people to Golden Sands?" Naze snorted and shrugged in an exasperated manner "I don't know if you've realized, but I'm not that much of a great leader or anything. All I want to do it to learn, not be some group head. I'll gladly go, but find someone else to lead the rest of them."

.

The world started spinning again, and Yang pulled herself away from the book. Its dancing symbols seemed to beckon her back, but there was no way that she was going back in. Not without a long break first, anyways. If she still had a brain, she was sure that it would feel like it was on fire. She took a step back from the plinth and tried taking a few deep breaths to calm herself before she remembered that physical actions like that didn't work anymore.

Brittle footsteps on the stone behind her alerted her to the presence of someone behind her, and she turned to find Azrile looking through her chest at the book. It was a strange feeling to realize that someone was looking through her. He gave a small nod and said "Ah, that's where you are. Surprising, is it not, that he was ever alive?"

Yang nodded. It seemed like a strange question, but she knew what he meant. The way he acted, she might've thought that he had never been alive at all. But he had been, and had apparently lived under the rule of a species called the Basilisk. Yang tilted her head slightly as a thought occurred to her, and she asked "What happened to the Basilisk? I know I could probably just look in the book again, but there's no way I'm going back in there, at least not yet." Azrile looked to one of the great shelves and said "There are numerous books and studies on the topic, but if you desire a truncated version, I could provide it orally." She nodded, and said "Just tell me, please."

Azrile gave another small nod and began speaking, saying "Our master, along with several others from his village made their way to the desert. They began learning the art of necromancy, but soon had learned everything that the tome had to offer. Some began building armies of the dead, waiting for the right moment to attack the Basilisk, but the Master continued to research necromancy, and started to look into other forms of magic as well. Those who had already mastered necromancy held a review of all those who had been preparing, and assigned roles accordingly. Master Naze was instructed to stay near the rear of the offensive and continue his research, using whatever was left by the forward offensive to further his research."

"The war began, and the Basilisk were taken highly off-guard as guard post after guard post went quiet. It wasn't long before they found out why. Scouts sent to investigate reported teeming hordes of dead humans crawling and clambering their way towards the nearest Basilisk city. They readied their defenses, but they knew very little of necromancy and how resilient the undead could be. The only saving grace that they had was that their natural scaly armor made it difficult for something such as a simple risen corpse to do any real damage to them. This was not the ultimate advantage you might think, though, as with every Basilisk killed, their armor and bone was stripped and turned to weapons for the risen. It took several years, but-"

Yang held up a hand to stop the onslaught of information before saying "Alright, I get it. There's a lot more detail than I thought there would be. Maybe I'll study up when I've got a little more time. Until then, do you think you could try and teach me some magic? Naze said I would probably lose my semblance when I got my body back, so I would like to have something to make up for that in a fight."

Azrile tilted his head lightly to the side and spoke "He said that? Hmm…" a few bony fingers started tapping against his bleached white chin. "What is your semblance?" he asked in a curious voice. Yang was quick to answer, saying "When I get hit, my aura gets more powerful. I can basically charge up by taking hits." Azrile nodded again and said "Yes, there could be issues with such a reactive semblance. Your soul is bonded with your body during your life in a way that can't be replicated, no matter how tightly a necromancer might bind the soul. You might regain partial semblance use, but it is a good idea to learn something else to supplement the loss."

Yang nodded. She was looking forward to learning some magic. Not nearly as much as she was looking forward to seeing Ruby again, but she reminded herself to take everything one step at a time. "Where do you think is a good place to start?" she asked.

Azrile immediately started talking again, asking her what she was interested in learning, and pointing to several of the shelves. Yang found herself quickly overwhelmed. She looked around, hoping for someone to come in and save her.

.

Ozpin leaned back in his chair, knitting his fingers together and putting his elbows on his knees. "And…these "demons" enter the world how, exactly?"

Naze answered by wiping the marker off of the white board and setting the marker flat. "There are a few ways; the first is that they can just find a hole, and crawl out. This is how most minor demons get through. Usually this hole snaps shut behind them, but sometimes they let multiple demons through. The next is that a demon can be summoned by anyone who knows enough to summon it, and is usually bound to do their bidding. This information is tough to come by, thankfully enough, and demons summoned this way are rarely very powerful. The next method is that a physical rift can be torn between this world and Hell. They happen naturally every now and again, and always represent a major threat to everything with a soul on the planet. The last way is pretty similar to the last, except that it is created on purpose. When a highly powerful demon wants to get something, they'll do anything to get it. This includes tearing apart real space and shoving as many demons through the rift as they can. When that happens… it's bad."

Ozpin nodded and said "I can imagine so." in a reserved voice. Naze stood again and walked to the window, looking out to the city beyond the school. "I must say, you're taking this with far more grace than I originally anticipated. You almost give me hope that the rest of the world will be as accepting." Ozpin raised an eyebrow and peered over his tinted glasses. "Almost?"

Naze made a dismissive gesture with his hand and said "You living people always find something to hate. I have faith that you'll do the same you always have." Ozpin took his hands apart and stretched his arms tiredly, saying "Yes, I think I'd be forced to agree. You have far more experience than anyone now could imagine; what do you think is going to happen with the Faunus, if you don't mind my asking?"

Naze made another dismissive move with his hand and said "Things are going to escalate before they can calm. The best thing for you, as someone who supports Faunus rights, is for the White Fang to continue their little tantrum. In fact, if they start doing worse things, it would be even better."

Ozpin opened his mouth, about to argue the point, when he stopped to consider. There weren't really any in-between opinions on the Faunus, either they were right, and should continue fighting, or were doing the wrong thing, and should stop. Such a dichotomy could bring non-supporting Faunus and humans together against a common enemy. One might've thought that the Grimm would be able to fill that role, but it appeared that their constant threat had been somewhat internalized. He took a moment to appreciate the wisdom of a being older than his entire civilization. The rather starkly anti-personal attitude made sense, but how far did it stretch? How much was a life worth to the long dead man in front of him?

This reminded him of the casualty that had been sustained. Yang… the poor girl. She had a bright future ahead of her. She would've made a wonderful huntress, but instead had her life cut short so unceremoniously. A niggling little thought started to burrow at the back of his brain, and it wasn't a thought that he wanted to be accurate. If this dead man was so capable to foresight and planning, who was to say that he didn't cause Yang's death deliberately?

His thoughts must have either shown on his face, or been otherwise detectable by the mage, because he turned from the window and looked him in the eye, arresting his attention with an otherworldly weight in his gaze. "I didn't kill Yang. I had the opportunity to save her, yes, but I didn't take it. You might not understand why, but I do. I've spoken with her since her death, she is fully aware of the situation. She does not blame me. In fact, she is rather enthusiastic to begin the tasks I have prepared for her."

This made Ozpin suspicious again. "What tasks would those be?" he asked in as unassuming a voice as he could manage. Naze regarded him with an amused look before letting out a few hollow laughs. The noise was strangely disconcerting. Ozpin felt his body tense, even against his conscious effort not to. His hand instinctually went to his cane. Naze spoke, eyes boring into Ozpin's very being "I don't know if you've picked up on this, but I'm not good at this. If I were to be the one to introduce my people, we would stand for the archaic, and for entropy. A constant reminder of mortality, and as a carrot on a stick of an escape. Yang is a bright eyed, optimistic teenager. Her message will be much easier received and interpreted accurately."

Ozpin quite agreed. He hadn't even seen Naze's true face, and he knew that it would be one to send a grim message. He would've offered his help in trying to get world leaders to accept him, but somehow he doubted that the eons-old decedent needed any assistance.

He shook his head, saying "The best of luck to you in your endeavors of peace. Now, there is something else I would like to discuss. You said that demons have sealed themselves in Hell, but never that there weren't any left in our world. I would imagine, by the way that you described them that they don't care much for their brethren. I would like to ask you if there were any still left." Naze paused, his hesitation obvious, even on the blank face that he always wore. Ozpin could tell that he was at something of an impasse, deciding whether or not to do something.

After a few pregnant moments of silence, Naze nodded and said "Yes, I've come across one in the several weeks I've been here. It had established a parasitic relationship with the girl Nora Valkyrie, and was feeding off of her residual soul energy. It was removed, I exchanged some information for its freedom, and I then threw it out my window."

Ozpin starred at Naze's face, expressionless, as he processed this. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond. Anger? Was it justified? He had said that minor demons weren't too much trouble, but he had not said that the demon he had set loose was a minor one. Naze looked back at Ozpin, awaiting his next action patiently. Slowly, Ozpin formulated the words "Oh…well…where is it now?" Naze shrugged his shoulders and said in a nonchalant voice "I don't know."

Ozpin was starting to wonder at Naze's sanity again. Here he had just finished how demons represented possibly the greatest threat the world had ever faced, even in Naze's own time, and he was casually admitting to setting one loose in his school. "Was… it a dangerous one?" Again, Naze shrugged and said "It could be, I suppose. It was stunted and weak, so it was hard to tell. I can give you my personal assurance, however, that if it raises to be a problem, I will take care of the matter personally. Besides, it was inside of the girl. If I hadn't removed it, I don't have a clue where we would be now. It would be stronger, though. That much I can be sure about."

Ozpin was starting to come out of his daze of confusion, and felt aggravation taking its place. "You let a potentially dangerous creature loose in my school?" His fists were starting to clench tightly. He was careful to make sure that this was the only sign of his anger, though.

Naze's neutral response was more or less what he expected. "I had no place to keep it. I made a deal with the little bastard, and I can hardly go back on that, now can I? If I see it again, I'll tell you." He exhaled his frustration in a deep breath, letting the tension seep out of him. It was a valuable skill to have for a headmaster. "Very well, I suppose that will have to do."

There was another heavy silence between them, during which Ozpin reached over to the table near him and grabbed a hold of his white coffee mug, taking a sip from the steaming dark liquid and swallowing it before it had time to burn his mouth. His thirst sated, he set the mug back down and again leaned back in his chair. Naze but his back against the wall next to the window and folded his arms, eyes wandering quickly around the room. It was several minutes before either one of the men said anything.

When one did speak, it was Naze first. He asked "If it isn't too much trouble to ask, how are the others doing? I am well aware of Yang's condition, but what of her teammates? I'm sure that things are going swimmingly, correct?" Ozpin either didn't find his comment humorous, or suppressed any sign of it. Naze would've guessed the former.

"Yang Xiao Long, as you know, is deceased." The disdain was clear in his voice. Saying the words obviously left a bitter taste in his mouth. "The rest are doing as well as could be expected. Only minor injuries, and the worst issue was that Ruby was heavily dehydrated when she came in. She has since been sedated and put on an IV." He shook his head and said "She fought tooth and nail to stay with her sister. I wouldn't be surprised if the first responders had to get medical treatment after she realized that they were separating her from her sister." His words hung in the air heavily as he took another sip from his coffee mug before continuing.

"The other two girls were exceedingly docile. Ms. Schnee seemed to be more in shock than Ms. Belladonna, who appeared fully conscious and cooperated fully with medical teams. She expressed… great remorse and regret at the loss of her team mate." He took another sip, this time a pained look in his eye "Ms. Schnee was unresponsive to attempts to speak with her at first, but after attempts were made for several minutes she came out of her dazed state and I was able to debrief her." He pulled a deep breath through his nose, his chest expanding, before he let the breath escape back though his nose. "Ms. Rose has yet to be debriefed, but such a task would be difficult, considering that she is currently under the effects of a large amount of sedatives. That left only you…" His mug clinked against the table as he set it down again. "…and I do think we've covered the happenings of that mission quite well."

He pushed against his knees, standing up from his chair again. "I thank you for your cooperation, Naze. I think, if you were to really consider it, that you would make an acceptable Huntsman." As Ozpin turned to leave the room, Naze smirked. He must have known that making such a remark would be fruitless. But, still, he couldn't be blamed for trying.

Ozpin put a hand out towards the doorknob, wrapping his fingers around it and beginning to twist. A small voice in the back of his head shouted protests. He tried to ignore it, but as he continued to twist the knob, it acted like a volume control, making the voice louder and louder, until it grew to an unbearable roar. His conscious blaring in his ears, he turned, taking his hand from the knob and faced Naze again. "Naze." He said simply, mind racing on how to approach the subject.

Naze glanced back over at him, an eyebrow raised, and said "Yes, what troubles you?" in the same even voice that seemed to be his only setting. Ozpin took a deep breath, steeling himself, before saying "I cannot, in good conscious, leave this room knowing that the soul; the very essence of everything one of my students is, is in the hands of one who might potentially do her harm. You cautioned me against starting any wars, and I will take that advice gladly, but now I ask you, not as a superior as I do students, not as an equal as I do the leaders of nations and armies, but as no doubt a child in comparison to you; don't harm her. Please, let her be as she was. Don't twist her around your finger like a mere tool. She was so much more."

Silence pervaded after Ozpin finished speaking. Naze looked at him with a maddeningly neutral expression until, stepping towards him, Naze said "An eloquent plea, for a child. Tell me Ozpin, what reason would I have for choosing her in particular, if I were merely going to twist her into a different shape? Why wouldn't I simply pick any odd soul and do the same?" He shook his head. "I've grown quite a distaste for doing such things. In fact, none in my current employ have been altered in any way that they didn't request. Some have had passions, but not the drive to chase them, and I've given that drive, but only hesitantly." He put a hand on Ozpin's shoulder, which he found strangely comforting considering the fact that he knew that it belonged to a corpse. "I tell you, not as a promise, but as a personal policy, that I will not make a single alteration that she herself does not suggest and approve. Changing individuals to suit my needs displays a revolting disregard to the individual serving. If I want a specific type of person, I will wait for them to die. I have the time."

Ozpin looked into Naze's eyes. There was something deep inside of them, some intelligence that glowed an ominous, old fire with fuel unknown. He suddenly felt something that he hadn't felt in a very long time: small. He nodded, and tried to say something, but he couldn't. His brain couldn't formulate a proper response. Instead, he turned to the door and continued his way out, his conscience now content to let him pass. Before he stepped over the threshold of the door he turned and looked over his shoulder, saying "I'll tell them that you're… that you're alright to go."

Naze made a small bow, and Ozpin left, shutting the door behind him. Naze continued starring at the door after he had exited, thinking. Ozpin had certainly taken all of that better than he had expected. And even more impressive, he had proved that he cared greatly for those he cared for. Endearing qualities to be sure. Naze concluded that he was a good man. Perhaps when he died, he might find his way into Naze's ranks.

But he couldn't just sit still and wait for that day. There were other things that required attention. He had a diplomatic introduction to plan, and other important business to attend to. One of the more minor of the thoughts that had been floating around in his mind occurred to him, and he wondered if it would be possible.

He cast his focus away from the puppet body and to the many shades that now watched over much of the world. They saw much, but he searched for only one thing in particular. The one with bright green eyes and curly ginger hair, the golem, Penny.

He wanted to know how an artificial soul could be generated. He had never given the matter much thought, but now that he did, many possible uses of such technology arose in his mind. And besides, he had somewhat enjoyed their last encounter. There wasn't much else for him to do with the puppet until rest of team RWBY was at least conscious. He stepped towards the door while sifting through the shades' sight. One in particular jumped out at him, and he focused on it.

Penny was walking through what looked like a crowded circular area surrounding a large tower that looked like it was meant for communications. He recalled seeing a similar tower whilst walking through the town on his first visit, and started to plan a route to it. A woman that looked like one of the people who had escorted him inside tried to get his attention as he walked past, but he ignored her. The double doors to the building opened, and the sun welcomed him back out.

It was several minutes of walking before he got to the tower, which he determined though random bits of other people's conversations to be called the CCT. Central Communication Tower would've been his first guess as to what the acronym stood for, but he couldn't muster the energy to care. There were much more interesting things close by. He stopped and looked around. The expansive circular area was not as crowded as it had been when he had looked through the shade, but there were still large numbers of people.

He spied his shade trailing behind the girl/golem and made a beeline for her. A few people walked in front of him as he went, and he stopped to avoid collisions, shooting them harsh looks as they went. They passed, and Naze continued his route. He drew up behind the girl and was about to speak out when he considered the meeting. If he simply appeared, it could send the message that he had some inexplicable knowledge of situations a far distance from him. While completely true, he didn't want this information to become common. He doubted that Penny would tell anyone, but one less person who knew would be one less problem.

He removed his scroll from his pocket, turned his back to Penny, and casually threw the device at her feet. As soon as it clattered to the ground, Naze put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and assumed a position that seemed to suggest that he was waiting for someone. Penny reacted at almost the same time he did, bending over to pick the miniature tablet up and looking around for whomever had dropped it. Her eyes seemed to follow an invisible line until they came to rest on Naze's pocket. From there the quickly flicked to the back of his head.

Naze felt a tap on his shoulder, and the gentle voice he had been expecting said "Excuse me, I think you dropped this." Before he had even turned, he knew that she had recognized him. Whether it was the clothes he wore, his general figure, or the lack of vital signs, he didn't quite care. "Ah, Penny. Thank you." He took the hand-sized device he was being offered and said "Fancy seeing you here. What have you been doing since we last convened?"

The girl looked down quickly before her eyes flicked back to Naze and she said hesitantly "Oh, nothing much. How about you?" Naze raised an eyebrow at this. Was she nervous? "I've not been doing a whole lot, I got into Beacon, like you suggested, but let's not talk about me. Where have you been? What have you been doing?"

It seemed that his pushing made her more and more skittish. She took a few small steps back and brought her arms up, hugging her elbows defensively. Naze could see that she was close to leaving. He didn't need her to flee, so he gave up on pushing for her to tell him. "Alright, alright, fine. Never mind, forget I asked." A relieved look came across Penny's face, and she took a few miniscule steps towards him again.

"You made it into Beacon? That's wonderful! How are things going there?" Her tone had changed completely. It was like she didn't remember any of what had happened seconds earlier. Naze was fine with this, as it if anything it only made the interaction easier. He answered her question with a shrug. "It's going alright. I just got back from a mission, actually." Penny perked up, and asked in a happy voice "Oh, wonderful! How did that go? Was it a success?"

Naze was about to answer when he reminded himself that to everyone else, Yang dying was a tragedy. He did his best to look troubled, and said "It was, but not at a significant loss. One of the people on the team I was going with, Yang, was killed."

As soon as the statement left his mouth Penny's hands went to her mouth, and she gasped, shocked. "Do you mean Ruby's sister?" she asked, horrified. Naze raised an eyebrow. He hadn't know that Ruby had made Penny's rather unique acquaintance. He made a mental note to ask Ruby about it before nodding and saying "Unfortunately so. She was killed by a Grimm's venom. It was… not pleasant." Penny simply stared at Naze for a few moments before looking down to the ground and putting her hands to her hear, clutching it tightly. "Oh no! No, no, no, that isn't good! Ruby is my friend! I… I can't…"

Naze watched the proceedings with interest. It occurred to him that he didn't know how Penny worked. Her soul may have been real enough, but there was still much that would have had to have been "programed". He wondered if this was done with enchantment, or if reactions were coded digitally. Her "brain" would have to be what determined her personality if it was done digitally, at least until that personality imprinted strongly enough on the artificial soul. He thought of this because if it was digital, there was a chance that whatever program governed her thought had suffered some kind of glitch.

If this was the case, though, she recovered quickly. She shook her head and looked back up to Naze, saying "Where is she? I think I should go and see her." Naze felt foolish for letting the conversation get sidetracked from his original intent. Now there was no way he would be able to discreetly ask her about her construction. He answered, the concern that had been in his voice before starting again to give to the neutrality that permeated all his actions. "She's back at a medical building near the landing strip at Beacon. I doubt that going to her now would do much good, though. She's been drugged to keep her calm."

Penny looked to the ground, considering this, than looked back up at Naze and said "I still want to go. Ruby is my friend, and I should be there for her!" It was clear that she had made up her mind on the matter. Naze considered his other options briefly. He could go back to his room and do nothing very important, go with Penny, go and see Yang's corpse, or resume watching the world through his shades. While the shades sounded far more alluring at the moment, he reminded himself that he needed friends who not only trusted him, but would continue to once they knew the truth.

Without any display of emotion, he said "Do you mind if I tag along with you?" Penny gave him a puzzled look and said "I thought you said that going-" He cut her off with a dismissive wave "I know what I said, I just… I don't think I'm really thinking straight. Big day, you know?" The excuse practically burned his tongue as it left his mouth, but he knew it would be easily believed. He resolved to never speak against his own facilities again, unless absolutely necessary or true.

Penny gave him a sympathetic nod and said "Sure thing, friend!" She held her arms out wide and asked "Do you need a hug?" She continued to stare at him for several seconds before starting to wither under his gaze. Naze only responded after she looked like she was second guessing the suggestion. "No."

The single word answer came out perhaps more harsh than he had intended, but Penny's reaction was quite amusing, which almost made it worth it. She lowered her arms and looked down to the ground, saying "Oh. I'm sorry." Naze gave her a look that was hard to place before turning away from her towards Beacon and saying "Now, are we going to go or stand around here all day?" Instantly the golem girl perked up again and nodded, following him.

Naze felt a prickle of something in his mind. There was something more to this golem. It acted almost too human, and at the same time not enough. There was something strange about it. He had seen perfect constructs that were essentially alive, androids and the like, but Penny was different. He found himself looking forward to meeting her creator. When, he didn't know, but it would matter little. He had all the time in the world. He turned his attention to more immediate matters. If Yang were to be returned to her body, there were preparations beyond those of her body itself. Media would have to be bribed, news stories to be forged, all things that he was more than confident he could get done, either by his own effort or by others with him. It would all have to go to plan, and he had yet to think of an adequate plan.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note:

Things are starting to spiral into depression, I've noticed. Good, things were too upbeat anyways!

Thank you to The Baz (I fucking love that name) for the OC, Solace. Big things for that guy, big things.

So remember to leave a review! And, if you should happen to have a friend who is looking for something to do, just point 'em over here, I would really like to see some growth for this story.

* * *

Ruby Rose lay on her back in the hospital bed, her red cloak, stained red and sticky, was still under her. A few people had come to try and take it away, but she didn't want them to. She had fought with them when they tried to take her away from Yang, but then they had given her some injection, and now she just felt relaxed.

She looked down at the needle in her hand. She had never really liked needles. It had a steady drip of clear stuff going down into her vein, and it felt cold in her arm. She couldn't help but smile at the strange sensation. It felt strange for her blood to be literally running cold. It might've bothered her, but she was simply so relaxed that she couldn't summon up the energy to do anything.

She cast her gaze around the room. It was white, clean, and quiet. She supposed that she appreciated the quiet, but she might've preferred some company. She looked to the corner of the room near the door to make sure that Crescent Rose was still there. It was, in its compacted form, leaning up against the wall. She started to try and get up, but the attempt was halfhearted at best. Her muscles were so loose that she flopped back onto the bed limply. She didn't really want to get up anyways.

Her eyes stopped on Crescent Rose, and she started to think about it. Someone who didn't have the same passion for weapons that she had might not have noticed it, but she knew that Crescent Rose had taken some damage. When she had attacked the Grimm, she had gotten a little out of control, and had used her weapon in a bad way. Now the blade was chipped and flawed. She would have to get a new one some time. She groaned. They were always so expensive. But that's the price she had to pay for creating her weapon by her own standards instead of industry standards. She had to get her blades custom ordered. Maybe she could ask Yang for some money, Dad never really trusted her with much.

Then she remembered what had happened. Yang had gotten hurt really badly. But she had showed the Grimm that did it, though. That was why Crescent Rose was damaged. She wondered how Yang was doing. The people had told her that Yang was dead, but they were wrong. They had to be. What could possibly kill Yang? Her sister was too tough to die, she was sure of it. How could someone like that really die? She shook her head, smiling. Yang loved jokes, this was probably all just one big joke. How she enlisted the doctors' help Ruby didn't know, but Yang had always been able to pull off some pretty incredible things before. She nodded to herself. That's what it was, it was all just a big joke. She didn't think the others would get it, though. Blake was always so serious, and Weiss didn't have much of a sense of humor. They would probably get mad when they found out it was all a joke.

A knock at the door startled Ruby, and she looked to the door for a few seconds before realizing that whoever was on the other side was probably waiting for a response. "Yes?" she said, accidentally slurring the word slightly. The door opened, and the nurse who had been one of the few who brought her in poked her head into the room. "Excuse me, Ms. Rose?" She nodded to show that she was, in fact, Ms. Rose, and the nurse continued, saying "There are some people here to see you. Do you mind if they come in?"

Ruby smiled again. She had just been wanting some company. She shook her head and said assuredly "Send them on in!"

The door opened the rest of the way, and through it came a stream of her friends: Blake, Weiss, Naze, and even penny made an appearance. She went to bring both hands to her mouth, but felt a tug on her left one. Looking down at it, she remembered that there was a needle attached to a tube in her vein. It was weirdly easy to forget that. She put her left hand back down, but still put her right hand to her mouth. "Hey guys! How's everyone doing? Penny, even you came! I'm so happy to see you all!" her eyes narrowed as she realized that one among them was missing. "Where… where's Yang?"

Everyone in the room seemed to shuffle uncomfortably. Ruby waited for an answer for a few moments before realizing what was going on. Yang hadn't let them in on the secret yet. She must've been planning to let them all know all at once, so that she could surprise all of them in one fell swoop. It was clever, she had to give her sister that. If she could make her reveal that grand, she would be forced to give her even more credit. It would sweep everyone off their feet at once.

Blake and Weiss looked at each other sadly before Weiss stepped forward and knelt down next to Ruby's bed. "Listen, Ruby, I think we might need to have a little talk." Ruby smiled back, tilting her head to the side questioningly. "What about?" She asked, feeling confused at the pained look that came across Weiss's face. Her pale friend looked back over her shoulder at Blake briefly before looking back and saying "Ruby… I don't think…" tears started to come from her eyes, and she said "I'm sorry, but Yang is dead. You saw her die, remember?"

Ruby thought hard about the past day. She had been on a Bullhead, walked through the swamp, gotten a leech, saw a zombie-thing, came to a crater, took some pictures of some Grimm, gotten cornered by Grimm…

The memory came back. She had been protected by her sister. She had gotten hurt protecting her, but she hadn't died, had she? She couldn't have. But, then again, she had been in the Bullhead… she had felt for a pulse…

Ruby shook her head, hands starting to come up to her head in a vain effort to protect herself from the thoughts that were starting to set themselves upon her mind. She had cried, she had fought, she had pleaded, but Yang hadn't moved. The people had tried to take her from Yang's side, but she had fought, even going so far as to viciously bite into someone's hand to try and get back to her sister. That was when she had felt the needle, and everything after that was… blurry.

The nurse, who had been standing in the doorway the whole time, said "She's starting to come out of it now. She likely won't remember much. She might need some time to… well… it looks like you all need some time." She looked around the room for confirmation, but everyone was too preoccupied either looking down or looking at Ruby. Eventually Naze simply nodded and motioned for the woman to leave. She nodded understandingly and exited, closing the door behind her.

Blake and Weiss both put their hands on Ruby's back, trying to offer some comfort. Even Penny walked over to the side of her bed, sitting hesitantly next to Ruby's legs and petting them in what she probably thought was a comforting manner. Ruby hardly noticed this, though, as her head was starting to clear.

"Yang… oh god no… please, no!" She couldn't bear it, but the thoughts wouldn't stop. They just kept beating on her brain relentlessly. She could hear somewhere for off in the distance Blake, Weiss, and Penny trying to comfort her, but they were drown out almost completely by the chorus of voices putting a huge pressure on her mind. Tears leaked from her eyes, her body started to spasm again, and she curled up, feeling the needle in her hand pull on her again. Angrily, she attacked the thing, yanking the tube and feeling the tape that had kept it stationary peel off of her skin and the needle slide out of the small hole that it had created. Blood started to jet out of the wound, but she didn't care. Yang had lost her life, she could stand to lose some blood.

* * *

Naze watched the dejected girl simply sit still as her friends tried to pull her out of the rut that she had fallen into. He couldn't help but feel…something at the scene. Surprise, mainly. He would've thought that she would be able to cope better, given her generally optimistic personality. But, Yang was special to her. He hadn't heard much of the twos' story, but Yang had seemed to play a part in Ruby's life beyond that of just a sibling.

As interesting as it would've been to sit and watch Ruby try and fight off the inevitable mental trauma she was facing, it would not be good for his relations with any present to simply observe. He knew that faking enough empathy to talk Ruby out of her despondency was just a tad out of the range of his interpersonal skills. Instead, he walked over to the bag attached to the needle that Ruby had rather unceremoniously removed. Blake was also eyeing the bag worriedly, and when Naze stepped over to it, she said "Is it something important?"

He peered at the bag. The clear fluid inside continued to drip steadily through the tube, out of the hypodermic needle, and onto the floor with a slow regularity. It was a solution to help rehydrate the girl, as they had been told by the nurse as they had been brought to the room. He supposed that Blake not listening was understandable, considering the circumstances.

He shook his head and said "No, she should be fine without it." She had been on the solution for a few hours anyways, she couldn't be too dehydrated by now. Blake nodded and turned back to Ruby, continuing to speak softly to her. Naze looked at the girl again. If he had to think of a adjective to match what he saw, it would be "broken". If Ruby let this crushing depression get the better of her, she could lose herself in it.

He considered his options. There were plenty of things that needed doing, but was Ruby one of them? He would've thought that Ruby would be able to recover quickly from the trauma of losing her sister, but if he had to make an assessment based on what he was seeing now, he would rethink that standpoint. The possibility existed that when Yang returned Ruby would bounce back, but there was also a good probability that this would only confuse her more, sending whatever adjustments she had made into a downward spiral.

Patience, he reminded himself, Patience was important. She had been dealing with the death of her sister with a clear head for the sum total of a few hours. If she failed to show any improvement than he would step in and lend some assistance towards her recuperation. Not from any sense of sympathy or guilt, of course, but because Ruby was important to Yang. If Yang lost one of the major reasons that she agreed to return, than there was a good chance Naze would lose his ambassador, and be forced to find another. He didn't want to go through that trouble, so the easiest thing to do would be to keeps Ruby sane and, by extension, keep Yang willing to help him.

At least, that's what he told himself. The feeling that he had gotten earlier when allowing Yang to die hadn't quite faded yet.

He looked over Ruby again. She had pulled her knees up to her chest, pressing her face into her knees and hiding it with her arms. Penny, Blake, and Weiss were all still trying to calm her. He solidly determined that there was nothing he could do in the situation before withdrawing his focus from the puppet and casting it towards the only team of people he had out at the moment.

Hale and his two guards, along with their undead pack animals, were just exiting the city's borders and reentering the wilds that had laid claim over the rest of the world. Communicating with him was somewhat difficult because of the distance between them, but Naze only had to give the message more attention to make it better heard.

"Hale" as soon as the thought floated through Hale's mind, he stopped, and motioned for the others to do the same. Looking up towards the sky for a reason that Naze had never been too sure of, the black-market merchant said "What is it, Boss?"

Naze's reply was near instant, acting at the speed of his thoughts. "Do you have to dust?" Hale laughed, throwing his gaze to the pack animals. "Boss, you've got enough dust to blow the city sky high, from what I've been told." Naze responded quickly again, saying "Good. Send one of your guards with the caravan and have them come back. You aren't finished in Vale."

Hale pointed to one of the guards and motioned for him to continue on the path. The animals followed. After this was done he looked back to the sky and asked "What else is there?" Naze considered his phrasing for a moment before returning "I'm sure you've seen that the media is quite expansive. If we want this ambassador thing to work, people need to know who the girl was, and what she stood for. I'll assume you still have plenty of bargaining items, you always do; I need you to go around and bribe, blackmail, whatever you have to do to get coverage on the girl. Yang Xiao Long is her name, she went through Signal Academy before going to Beacon. I want every news channel running stories about what a hero she was. Got that?"

A smile crept across Hale's face behind the heavy purple bandana that covered its lower half, and he said "You got it, Boss. Shouldn't be too much trouble at all. I'll get right on it." He straightened his hood before turning back towards the city, walking back on to its smooth paved streets. Naze replied curtly "Good" before turning his attention back to the puppet body.

It jerked back to animation and looked around. Ruby had her legs over the side of the bed, face buried in her hands and body shuttering as sobs continued to rock it back and forth. She wasn't the only one crying, however. Blake also had tears starting to leak from her face, and Weiss looked like she wasn't far behind. Penny looked almost as mortified, making Naze raise an eyebrow. Just how much feeling did she have? He brushed the question off as unimportant.

He tapped Blake on the shoulder, as she was the closest to him, and asked in a hushed voice "I feel rather out of place here. Should I perhaps leave and find you guys when things start to look up?" Blake looked back at him, and for a little more than a second there was anger in her eyes. That faded quickly, though, and nodded. Her voice was choked as she said "Y-yes. I think that would b-be good."

Naze bowed his head respectfully before making towards the door. He turned the handle and opened the door, stepping through the threshold. With one final look over his shoulder, he saw Penny tying a bandage tightly over the bleeding wound in Ruby's hand. Ruby herself was watching the process with a tired expression, still crying. The normally optimistic spark to her eyes had gone out. Naze turned and left, trying to think of what else he could do to prepare for the return of Yang. There had to be more. He couldn't just sit idle until it happened.

Naze walked back to the dorm, and to his room. The door clicked shut behind him, and he seated the puppet on the side of the bed before withdrawing from it completely. His mind free of having to control the second body, he bared down completely on the huge numbers of shades that had started to spread across the planet. Numerous sights became his, most of which he was sure were classified somehow; great armies of mechanical soldiers, white fang secret underground bases, but none captured his attention as much as one thing in particular, one sight that a shade was watching.

His brow furrowed and his fists clenched. He was careful to avoid putting too much focus into the shade so that his prey would not notice it. He knew that his luck had just been a little too good. Of course the Paladins couldn't be completely gone.

He clutched the orb of control tightly and gazed down at it, taking in every detail he could. The gaze of the shade was obfuscated by the immense amount of holy energy coming off of the individual, but if Naze was careful to avoid making his presence known, he could observe the individual himself without hindrance.

* * *

Solace Lah walked through the streets of Vacuo, looking for anything that he might be able to help anyone with. He looked around at the many signs hanging on the shops, talking a moment to read each one. He wished that he was able to read better than he could, but for only being exposed to the language for around two years, he had made some very good progress. He had also made very fast progress with the spoken language, having become fluent very quickly.

And he owed it all to one girl. Reisha had been the absolute love of his past two years. She had been the one who taught him to read and to write, as well as to speak. Whether she had done this because she was a generous person, or because he had saved her life, he didn't know, but he hardly cared. All that mattered now was that they were in love. His hand laid on the pocket at his breast, and over the top of the last letter he had received from her about a week ago. It was similar to all the others that he received from her, telling about the things that had been happening at the village; how people were doing, what she was spending her days doing, how much she missed him, everything about her life.

And in return, he told her everything about his. All of his adventures, all of experiences, he wrote to her about it all. Every act of heroism, every sermon he gave, every inspiring message he could think of. He poured his soul out to her, and she did the same to him. She was the only one who knew his secret. The secret that he both kept clutched close to his heart, and shared with any who would listen.

He was a Paladin, and one of incredible age. He had been put into a sleep by his masters so that he might be awoken when he was needed to fight against the undead menace. But this never happened, and he had awoken at a far different time, when the enchantments that had kept him timeless and asleep in his coffin had given out. He recalled waking up from this deep sleep well, it had left him with an immense aversion to enclosed places. He recalled coming to, dazed. He remembered the oppressive darkness, crushing to his very soul. He remembered shouting out for assistance, sure that there had been some mistake.

But no one had answered.

He had known then that something was wrong. He had been placed in the inner sanctum of the monastery, and that was never empty. Always, there was someone praying quietly to themselves, blessing their equipment, or reading their catechisms. He should've been awakened, that he might rejoin the fight against the undead. But he wasn't.

He remembered the pounding of his heart in his ears as the air in the coffin started to thin and fade. He remembered the dizzy feeling of suffocating. And then he remembered something else. Something that made his chest swell with purpose. He had called upon the holy light deep within his chest, and it had answered. He found his body and senses restored, and his spirit bolstered. Every minute increment of hopelessness and doubt that had accumulated as he had slowly come to accept his fate had been burned away in the presence of so incandescent and warm a power.

His blood had boiled with energy, and he started to beat on the top of his coffin. His voice raised to throat-tearing volume, and he fought. Fought against the darkness, against the fear, and against the coffin. The ornate marble lid shattered under the immense force of his blows, and a heavy layer of dirt and grime had rushed in to take his place. The light inside of him had never faltered, however, and he had continued to fight, clawing his way up and out of the coffin. It felt like hours, but he had eventually breached the surface, gasping for air and dragging himself out of what now seemed much like a grave.

He had stood, looked around, and started brushing off his ornate golden and white armor. As he had done so, he had looked back to the hole he had dragged himself from, and started to laugh. In spite of all the questions that he had, and all the worry about what had happened to his Battle Brothers, he laughed. The irony was so think he probably could've given himself a concussion with it. He had spent most of his life fighting the undead, and here he was, crawling out of a grave in what he was sure had been a perfect imitation.

He had laughed like that for hours, simply unable to handle the situation. He smiled even now, just thinking about it. Someone bumped against his shoulder, snapping him out of his reminisce. She shook his head and apologized before continuing his walk.

He felt the light in his chest, even now. It was in everyone else around him, too, but was dimmed. Untapped potential. It made him sad to think that in whatever span of time had passed that he spent under the ground, his order and everything he believed in had faded so thoroughly. There were remnants, of course, but they were mysteries to everyone who used them. No one knew where the knowledge and power they called "aura" came from, or how to use it to its maximum potential. They had made progress in advancing it, however, with the discovery of the "semblance".

His Order had never discovered this, and he had jumped at the opportunity to learn it. His dearest Reisha had taught him, and now he traveled. She had begged him to stay, almost everyone at the village had, but he simply couldn't. It was not his way, staying in one place. He had to travel the world, helping any who needed it, and crushing the wicked beneath his heel. He also felt the need to spread the Holy word, and to perhaps train people in ways long forgotten.

It was just as Solace started to cross the street, making his way to a restaurant that he felt a prickling sensation stab at his mind. He knew this sensation to be his aura warning him of some kind of stalking danger, and he looked inward to find the light to which he had devoted his life. A bright, luminous shield engulfed him as he spun in his heel to face whatever the enemy was. He had neither his weapon nor his armor with him, but he would be damned if he was going to back down.

What he found as he turned was something that made his stomach turn in surprise and disgust. It was a human form, with identifiable torso, arms, and head, but seemed to be made entirely of wispy smoke. Two bright, penetrating eyes peered back at him, absorbing every detail with greedy hunger. There was no one behind the creature, so Solace lunged out at the thing, huge fists clutched tightly into fists, intent on banishing whatever foul intent the twisted creature before him had.

As his fist drew closer, the solid light radiating off of his form intruded into the thing's ethereal darkness, and it gave out a loud, high pitched whine of pain. The area around Solace's fist almost seemed to be burned away by the Holy power he exuded.

His fist passed through the thing completely, and he went to strike it a second time when its remaining form balled into what seemed almost to be solid shadow, and soared faster than the eye could follow into the sky. Solace looked above him, and just as his eyes found the thing again, it soared off in a different direction. To the East. He thought of what lay to the east. There were numerous villages between Vacuo and Vale, with an even larger number of individual settlers. That… thing could be heading to any one of them. Once it reached them there was no telling what it could do. There was no chance that he would be able to catch it, though. Only to follow behind, and to hopefully find and destroy it before it caused too much damage.

Strange looks from the people passing on the sidewalks reminded Solace that he was not alone, and he quickly started walking again, setting his course now back to the inn he had been staying at. He would need his armor and his weapon if he were to hunt the creature.

He found himself deeply disturbed by the thing's appearance. It had been undead, a spirit risen from the grave. An unholy abomination. Solace felt his chest swell with purpose, but also a deep dread. In the two years he had spent in this new world, he had never as much as caught wind of any undead. The people weren't even familiar with the concept. This was a good sign, meaning that undead weren't a problem. But now… now he had seen one, and when there was one there was invariably more. He could only hope that he wasn't too late, and that whatever foul power that had brought that poor soul back from its sleep had not yet grown too powerful.

When at last he reached the building he had been staying, christened "The Foamy Cup" by a hanging sign outside, he opened the door and entered, having to duck slightly to get through the doorway. When he did so, the man behind the bar waved happily and said "Hey, Solace! What's with the grim face?" Solace debated briefly with himself about whether or not he should answer, or if it would be a better use of his time to simply continue on his way. Every second could count.

In the end, his courtesy won out over his urgency, and he said "Hello, Brower. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to talk. I have urgent business." With that, he continued to his room. His armor fit over his enormous muscles like a glove, and he brought his hammer, Judgment, off of its resting place on the bed. The weapon was enormous, even by the standards of weapons he had seen since waking up. It made since, because he had acquired it after the event. When he had clawed his way out of the dark sarcophagus he had not taken his original weapon with him. No matter how many times he went back in an effort to find the buried thing, he was never able to locate it. Reisha had seen what a devastating loss this was to him, and had had her father, Griswold. He was the blacksmith for the village, and had been practically hunting for a way to repay Solace for curing his daughter of a ravenous cancer that had left her body dilapidated. It was in the time after this that the sweet girl had taught him to read, write, and speak.

The hammer itself was made, for the most part, of a solid silver metal, and stood roughly six feet tall from head to handle, making it reach only just to his shoulders with his armor on. Without the armor, the weapon was around six or seven inches shorter than him. The majority of this was taken up by the handle, but the head made up at least a good foot and a half. The entire thing had been blessed by him numerous times, making its mere touch something for the dead to avoid. His knowledge of runes was limited, but he did know a few. One of them, holy in origin and being created long before he had even been born, was etched on the handle just below the head, and made the entire thing nearly weightless, but only to its wielder. Solace was capable of wielding the war hammer without it, but its inclusion gave Solace the endurance to battle for as long as it took to defeat his enemies.

He peered into the mirror briefly before leaving. The tips of his brown hair brushed against the pearly white plate armor. Not a single chink existed in the armor, and it was capable of protecting him from even being hit by a train. In conjunction with the shield that his holy connection granted him, this allowed him to endure inhuman amounts of damage. And he needed to, considering the opponents that he often found himself coming up against.

He lifted Judgment off of the ground and brought it back down onto the floor with a loud thump while holding a small button at the top of the grip about halfway up the handle. The front portion of the head opened and folded back on itself, revealing a round protrusion and several large vials of dust. The contraption had appeared alien to him at first, but he had quickly learned that the protrusion was, in essence, a cannon, with its ammunition being the vials of dust. It was not a very economic weapon, consuming an entire vial with every shot, but when he used it he made sure that it was worth it. The vials of dust, eight in all, were all filled with an electric blue variant of dust. He would've been skeptical at the strange design if he hadn't seen the unwavering strength of the hammer, and the torrent of raw elemental power that could be unleashed by the cannon first hand.

He put the hard metal helmet on his head, and watched as every personal detail disappeared. Now all that could be seen of the man behind the white and gold armor was his dark brown eyes through the horizontal slit in the helmet's front. The golden seal of the Order of the Holy light stood stark against the silver breastplate. He had been asked about it several times, but each time he had given the same token response. "It's an old family crest." This was accepted by everybody, and he found out soon after using this excuse that most families did have such symbols.

He continued to the door, now having to step carefully through the frame rather than simply stoop slightly. He was careful to make sure that his hammer didn't hit the doorways and cause any structural damage. He had had problems with similar events even before he had awoken from his long sleep.

He walked out the door to the building without saying a word to Brower. The man knew that something was amiss with the Paladin, in spite of the fact that he had only known him for three days and spoke infrequently. He didn't drink, so opportunities to talk were quite limited. Solace emerged back out onto the bright street, now fully clad and armed. He started to walk in the direction that the corrupted spirit had gone, his heels carrying him quickly.

* * *

Naze hissed through his boney teeth, being extraordinarily careful not to crush the orb of control in his skeletal hands. Of course he couldn't have just been free of the Paladins. The mortal enemy to everything that he and his people were couldn't simply vanish in time along with the rest of his problems. Even the demons had simply disappeared, leaving not a scrap of knowledge in their wake. But of course, the Paladins had to cling stubbornly to existence.

Naze immediately commanded all shades he had to begin searching for sources of holy power. If there were more Paladins, he wanted to know. This could destroy everything that he had worked for. If that man were to find a way to any political standing, it could be disastrous. If he were to speak out against Naze, as he undoubtedly would, people would likely listen. And even worse, people would believe. Who knew what examples he would bring to attempt to "prove" that Naze was evil? He had done some atrocious things, but certainly none within this man's recollection.

He started to summon up other thoughts. He turned his attention not to the orb, or even any of his existing servants, but rather towards the void that all souls faded to eventually. He used his immense power to tear a hole in the space in front of him.

The air shuddered and cracked as a power that was very much on the fringes of what was normal, or even possible, and with an unearthly wail, the very empty existence in front of his was shunted aside in place of a hole into the void. Countless sleeping faces looked back at Naze, one for every being that had ever lived and died through the course of history that was lucky enough to have their spirits remain peacefully in the void of the dead.

He wasn't looking for faces, though. He was looking for spirits that had been lost; ones that had been dead so long that they remembered nothing about who they had ever been. Finding two such souls, he drew them from the infinite blue, and let the summoning portal close behind them, ruminating on how many weeks of preparation such a feat would have taken him even as his undeath had begun. He had certainly grown since his death so many countless eons ago. The irony was not lost on him.

The portal snapped shut once its support from Naze was removed, and he examined his two new thralls with a highly critical eye. Both had faded beyond recognition, not even a shingle shed of their minds left. They were totally blank slates. Being as such, they were also the only kinds of souls that Naze twisted entirely to his whims anymore. If he had to make a comparison between changing a stronger one and using a faded soul, he would've likened it to erasing someone else's writing on a chalkboard and replacing it with his own work versus simply acquiring a new chalkboard. More trouble in the short term, perhaps, but leaving with a far greater diversity in content.

He took the two spirits and awakened them from their deep slumber. Both peered back at him with narrow, slit-like eyes as a thin mist seemed to fall from their intangible surface, not a single thought going through their heads. Naze knew they would be weak. They always were. It was what he looked for. Less natural power meant more for him to give.

He put a hand out towards them, and the necromantic energies that he had spent so long growing a mastery over flowed freely towards the two, empowering them. Their forms changed from mostly mist and without any real structure or definition, to altogether more strange things. They sprouted numerous limbs with small, finger-like manipulators at each end that worked ceaselessly, and whatever projections of legs that had been shrouded by the mist was removed as they started to allocate their forms differently. Their necks turned to flexible appendages on which their heads sat, and their eyes turned from small dark slits to wild and burning things that darted around suspiciously, like they were waiting for the chance to do something.

Naze looked at the two poltergeists, satisfied with the results. They were not the most powerful ghostly minions he had ever created, but they needed not to be. If they were too powerful, they would be visible to everyone. These would likely already be seen by anyone with a trained aura.

He stopped the flow of energy just as they linked the two creatures into the same gestalt consciousness that all of his servants shared with him, in spite of how little attention he normally gave it. He had plenty of thoughts of his own he had to wrest with without adding the collective murmurs of thousands of others.

As soon as the energy stopped, the two poltergeists folded their multitude of new limbs into themselves and held themselves stock still, awaiting a command from their new master. He provided one swiftly, that being to follow the Paladin and prevent him from finding out about the entire city of undead hiding. If he did find out, Naze would probably have to take action against him. Another idea popped into his head.

With so much talk and thought of peace, he was forced to consider the possibility of peace with the Paladins as well. They had always been aggressive towards him in spite of the many offers of peace and attempts to convince them that he was not the cause of the numerous undead that had spurred their creation. They never listened, though. He was, as they reminded him at every opportunity "an unholy monstrosity". His patience had finally worn, and he withdrew from diplomacy altogether. A few armies had been sent after that, but they had been crushed easily. Combat in the Black Morass was tailored for his people to win. The knotted trees and murky water made ambushes easy.

The poltergeists chittered excitedly and soared away, unable to keep themselves from following the single purpose they had been given. They exited the door and started to weave their way quickly to the surface through the twisting halls and tunnels like wisps on the wind. Naze watched them go, thinking his dark thoughts.

If the Paladin found out about him before everyone else, it would be bad. Unfortunately, there would be no way to keep the information from him once Yang's revival went public. He would inevitably speak out then about the evil that Naze represented. He could use this to his benefit, though. If he allowed the man to speak out against him and spread his lies, than made an offer to settle their differences amicably, it would make him appear a raving lunatic. In addition to this, there was a chance that the man would see reason, and lay the old rivalry to rest. Naze very much doubted this though.

He shook his head and looked back to the orb of control in his hand. There were other, much more important matters than one little Paladin. He had yet to find any evidence of others, and he doubted that they existed. He would have heard of them by now, through one channel or another.

* * *

Yang shimmered, her misty form shimmering and threatening to fade. Again, she felt an almost irresistible pull towards the hole deep in her chest. She groaned as she tried desperately to keep her mind from slipping into the dark feeling that felt just a little too much like a deep comfortable sleep. The idea did sound good…

No, she couldn't. He had to stick around. If not for her own sake, than for Ruby's. She wondered how the little kid was doing. She had told her not to beat herself up over what had happened, but she knew exactly what she would be doing if she were in her sister's place.

A new, very strong motivator now in her mind, she pulled herself out of the pull of the void. She didn't want to sleep. Not yet. The area around her came back into focus, and she found Azrile standing a few feet from her, glowing eye sockets peering quizzically at her. It might've just been her imagination, but she could swear that there was a facial expression on the bleached bone. His jaw opened, and he said "You know, you may be trying too hard. That would certainly explain the energy deficiency."

He had been trying to show her how to cast a spell for the last several hours. After a while of inquiring about what she wanted to learn, she had blurted out something about a fireball, and he had latched onto that idea. He had explained countless times the thoughts that she had to hold in her mind, "Something that arouses strong emotion. Anger. Get angry, picture the flame in your mind, and let your power ignite!"

She got the feeling that he was skipping a few steps in the process. He had talked about "studying" magic before, and what she was doing now was a far cry from anything that she would call studying. She could infer that "studying" probably had something to do with the massive shelves that held more books than had probably ever been printed in the history she had learned in school.

She tilted her head questioningly and asked "How would trying to hard make me not have enough power? That doesn't make any sense." Azrile rolled his glowing sockets and said in response "You really have no knowledge of magic, do you? I'd thought that Lord Naze had been exaggerating. The flow of energy should be tightly regulated to control the size of the spell."

Yang felt inside of her for a brief moment before replying angrily "I haven't got any energy! I thought that's why I was getting mad! If I was still alive, I'm sure I could do this! I just… I can't make enough energy to use." The anger in her voice tapered off. Azrile only clicked his fingers against his chin, thinking. Yang threw her hands up frustrated and started to walk away before Azrile spoke up, saying "Wait. I know what is happening. You were killed via Morgana's poison, correct?" she nodded, and he continued "It reacts with the soul, sapping the excess energy that builds over the life. That would explain why you've almost slipped out several times; the energy you've been trying to use is what keeps you here, awake and conscious. That's all you have right now because the poison drained you of your excess energy."

Yang shook her head "I really don't care about any of this. Can you fix it or not?" Although he had no muscles to possibly smirk, Yang was sure that she saw one work its way across the dry bone. "I know a thing or two about necromancy, giving power to a ghost shouldn't be too hard."

Her fists tightened, and she said "Good, then do it! I hate feeling weak like this." Azrile nodded, saying "Of course." Before taking a few steps back. Yang probably should've felt some trepidation from this, but she didn't. She was already dead, what else could happen to her? Azrile put a hand out towards her, and after a brief pause in which nothing happened, an arc of deep purple and dark green energy was shot out of his hand and struck her in the center of the chest.

She cried out in a combination of surprise and pleasure as her misty form started to thicken. Before she could fully process what was happening, it was over. Her fists worked furiously, her arms jittered, and a manic grin spread across her face. It felt… wonderful. She felt invigorated. Better than she ever had in life, like she could do anything. Experimentally, she reached over to a nearby table and made a swipe at a candlestick in the middle. The stick went flying, clanging against the stone floor and skidding off a long distance away.

She watched it go until it came to a complete stop under another table. She looked at her hands, her smile only growing wider. It felt good to be able to do things like that again. She looked back to Azrile, a mad glint in her eye. "I think I can do it." Azrile's only response was to put a hand out towards the wall that she had been attempting to shoot at earlier. Yang pictured fire in her mind, clear and bright. She felt an immense swell of something inside of her, and pulled her arm back in the well-rehearsed stance she had always used. As her fist came forward, she drew the feeling out, just as she had been told.

As her arm reached its full extension, the feeling seemed to reach its maximum potential, and like firing Ember Celica, a gout of orange flame ignited the air in front of her fist and burst forth, spreading against the wall, tongues of flame licking the dull bricks.

Before the fire had even burned itself out, she turned to Azrile and said "Do you think I could go back to Vale and check something?" Azrile tilted his head questioningly and asked "What is it you plan to do? I would think that you should speak to Lord Naze about it."

Yang replied quickly, eager to go. "We talked about this already. He said that I could go and see my sister as long as I didn't communicate with her or anything." Azrile continued to gaze at her, and she put her hands together, saying "Please, can I go?" Azrile turned away from her and started walking away, saying over his shoulder "Why are you looking for my permission? If Lord Naze said that you could, than go. So long as you don't neglect your other responsibilities there will be no issue."

Yang smiled again before speeding quickly towards the exit. She never realized how much she would miss her sister after leaving on such a sad note. The memory of Ruby's face as she had gone limp in her arms… she hoped that she wasn't taking it too hard.

.

Ruby rocked back and forth, legs folded to her chest, back rhythmically thumping against the tiled wall of the bathroom. She hiccupped occasionally, and each time she did a wave of pain went through the muscles all over her body. Dark bags had formed under her eyes, which were red and extremely bloodshot. She stared at the locked door in front of her, hoping, praying, that she would hear a knock, and that Yang's voice would come though saying that there was a terrible misunderstanding, and that she was really fine.

No such thing happened, though, and she just kept rocking, back and forth, back and forth. Eventually she looked at her scroll and saw that the time was 11:47 PM. She didn't remember what time she had come in here, but it had been shortly after noon. Blake and Weiss had called out to her for a while, trying to get her to come out, but she hadn't responded. She didn't want to come out. She couldn't come out. Out was where Yang's bed would be empty. Out was where her clothes were, where her weapon was, where everyone who would ask Ruby where she was resided. Here she was safe. Here she didn't have to think about that. Here on the cold, dark floor of the bathroom, just next to the sink.

Her mouth and throat were dry and scratchy. She tried to push herself up so that she could reach the faucet, but her arms were too weak to support her. She fell weakly back to the floor, eyes closing as they tried to summon up more tears. She didn't have any, though, and she resigned herself to laying there all night, waiting for Yang to come. If she didn't come...

Ruby wrapped the cape covered in Yang's dried blood around herself and brought her hood over her head. There was nothing that she wouldn't give to see Yang just one more time. She pulled the cape tighter around herself, trying to trick herself into thinking she could feel Yang's arms around her. It didn't work. She slid over into her side, face against the cold white tiles, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Her eyes were still locked on the door when she felt something that almost made her jump. A pair of arms wrapped around her. She gave a concerned pull against the arms, but stopped when she realized that they were warm and comforting. In the dark she couldn't see whether or not there were really arms around her, but she didn't care. She knew what she wanted to believe, and that was good enough for her.

Ruby's eyes drifted closed, and her breathing slowed. She fell into sleep, and relished the release, however temporary, from her grief. She dreamed of her sister.

* * *

(review)


	15. Chapter 15

Author's note:

Things are continuing to move. It feels good to know where you're going with something, doesn't it? Anyways, give me some opinions on how I did with Nora there. It felt kind of weird. And, of course, some feedback on how Ruby and Yang are acting would be greatly appreciated as well. Other than that, just the usual pleas for reviews and follows and whatever. Thanks!

* * *

Ruby awoke from the light sleep that she had been able to fall into, jerking the covers off of her in a sudden fit of motion. She had had the nightmare again. Every night, it was the same thing. Every night she saw the same damn thing. Yang getting caught up in the maw of that massive creature, getting shaken around like a chew toy, and they getting tossed like a ragdoll. She wished that she didn't have to relive that moment. Every time she did she woke up in a cold sweat, usually screaming. She hadn't screamed this time, though. Maybe that was a good sign.

She looked to her side at the empty bed that used to be Yang's. No one had touched any of her stuff yet, Ruby hadn't let them. It just seemed disrespectful. Blake sat on the bed above Yang's empty one, looking over at her from behind a book. Ruby returned her gaze without saying anything. She didn't have anything to say. Blake didn't feel the same way, though, and she asked "Are you doing alright? You were tossing around."

Ruby nodded, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her knuckles. "Yes, I'm fine." Her voice sounded tired. She felt tired. She was tired, even though she had just woken up. It was difficult for her even to slide her legs over the side of the bed and stand. Her knees were weak, and her legs shook under her own weight. She had barely moved on her own in the past five days. Weiss and Blake had brought her food. Otherwise she wouldn't have eaten.

She dragged her feet across the floor, slowly making her way to the bathroom. Blake watched her go, obviously wanting to say something, but held her tongue. Ruby appreciated this. She knew it pained her friend to see her like this. It pained her too, though, and she continued to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She made sure to lock it behind her.

She turned around, flicking the lights on and looking into the mirror. What she found might have startled her a few days earlier. Large dark circles had formed under her eyes, which were still bloodshot. Her skin had faded to an even paler color than it normally was, giving her the appearance of being sickly. Her hair had become bedraggled from lack of care, and stuck up at odd angles with a greasy sheen to it. She made a halfhearted attempt to flatten it before noticing something else.

She held her right arm out and tried to flex. She had never had any great amount of muscular strength, but her state now was nothing short of concerning. Her arms looked like toothpicks. She could see very clearly the bones that gave them structure. Another thought occurred to her, and she lifted the bottom of her pajamas tank top slowly. Her belly curved in from her pelvis, and only arced back up to meet her ribs, all of which were very visible. She let out a sigh and dropped the garment back down. Yang would have some pretty strong words for her if she could see the state she was in. She felt her lips start to tremble at the thought of her sister and tried to push the thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't keep breaking down every time she remembered her.

Instead she tugged at the cloak still around her shoulders, as it had been for the past few days without being removed. The dried blood that had worked its way into the fabric made the thing rigid, and occasionally flaked off, but Ruby had been careful to avoid moving in ways that would cause that. It wasn't difficult, considering how lethargic she had been. Weiss had offered to take it and wash it, but Ruby had been rather radically opposed to the idea.

She had done something she never thought she would do. She had lashed out and hit her friend. It wasn't a hard hit, as she was quick to remind herself. But all the same Weiss's face as she looked back up at Ruby, touching she budding red marks of Ruby's hand on her cheek had only twisted the already salted knife in her heart. She had apologized, but Weiss had only turned and left. Now that she looked back on the incident she was glad that her partner had done that, because in her fit of blubbering she probably would've only made matters worse.

Her self-examination complete, Ruby turned back to the door and unlocked it, walking back into the bright light of the bedroom and making her way back to the bed that had served as the center of her suddenly much smaller world. She hadn't even left the room since being brought back by her friends. There was simply nothing left for her out there.

She clamored back onto the bed and turned her face to the ceiling. Her stomach growled at her angrily, but it was easy to ignore. She had done practically nothing else over the past few days. Her eyes drifted shut, and again, she was watching her sister disappear into the massive jaws of the monstrous Grimm that had ended her life. She tried to move against the thing, but her arms felt like they had lead weights on the ends. All she could do was watch in terror.

Before the scene could advance too far, something jolted her abruptly and sent the world around her dissolving into nothing. Her eyes jolted open again, and she found Weiss looking up at her, holding out a large plastic bag with one hand to her. She could smell the scent of food from the cafeteria. Not the best smell to wake up to, but her body certainly needed it. Weiss looked past the bag at Ruby's face and said "Are you going to take it or not?"

Ruby's eyes flicked from the bag to Weiss's face, and back again. She was trying to muster the strength to deny the edibles, but her aching stomach made a far more convincing argument than she could. Maybe it was some deeply rooted instinct, maybe not, but she was unable to resist the meal. She took the bag quickly, mumbling "Thank you." in a hushed voice. She turned away from them, laying the food out before her. There were three sandwiches, a bottle of water, and two apples. She started by stuffing almost an entire sandwich in her mouth, chewing greedily.

Behind her she heard Weiss say to Blake "Blake, can you come here please? I think we need to talk." Blake slid off her bed and murmured "Sure, let's go." Before both started towards the door. Slowly, Ruby lowered the food away from her face and strained her ears to listen. The door to the room opened, and both girls walked out into the hall, the door closing to just a crack. Ruby could still make out what they were saying, though.

Weiss was the first to speak, saying "Blake, they're getting worse. They're on practically every channel." Blake responded quickly with the same hushed voice "I know. I've even gotten a few on my scroll. How did they find out so fast?" Weiss gave an exasperated sigh and said "I don't know. How did they even find out? The school doesn't just release that information to the public, do they?"

Blake was silent for a moment before saying "I don't think so. I don't know how they found out. Unless her father made some kind of announcement I can't think of anyone who would…" Her voice trailed off as she seemed to come to some kind of a realization. After a short pause she said "You don't think Naze could've done it, do you?"

Weiss gasped and said "I don't see why he would, but he's really the only option, isn't he?" Ruby wondered what they were talking about. She hadn't looked at her scroll in… she didn't really remember the last time she had looked at it. It had buzzed a few times, but she didn't care. She went back to her food, still listening carefully to their conversation.

"Have you seen the most recent ones?" Weiss asked. There was silence, and Ruby assumed that Blake had nodded her head, and Weiss continued "They've even started to interview her father. He doesn't seem to be taking it too well. Remember how you told me what Yang told you once about her father almost shutting down? It seemed to me like he was on the verge of doing that again." Ruby raised an eyebrow to herself. Interviews? They must've been talking about the news.

News people were interviewing her father? And, worse than that, he didn't seem to be taking it well. She didn't remember too well the time that her father had receded into himself when her mother had died, but from what she could recall he had simply…stopped trying. Sort of like how she was now.

Blake's voice came back, and she said "I'm going to talk to Naze about this. If he told anybody, I'll find out. In the meantime, you go in and talk to her. She hasn't said a word to me, but maybe you can get a little more out of her. She isn't doing well. And make sure she's eating." Footsteps came back into the room, and Ruby turned over to find Weiss closing the door softly behind her. Weiss looked up to her and said "Blake is… uh… going to sort a few things out. She'll be back a little later."

Ruby nodded and turned back to her food. They thought that she couldn't hear them. She wasn't about to point out that she could, though. Weiss quietly walked over to the side of the bed before slowly turning and taking a seat on her bottom bunk. There was a pregnant silence, and Ruby could practically hear the girl's mind grasping for straws that could lead to a conversation. She never had been the best conversationalist.

* * *

Nora looked around the alleyway for any sign of illegal activities. She wasn't entirely sure what to look for, but she was sure that she would know it when she saw it. The Huntsman who they were shadowing, Peter Ciar, walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. He spoke, and his gruff voice sounded like gravel under heavy tires. "Have you found anything yet, Ms. Valkyrie?"

She shook her head cheerily, smiling at the man and saying "Nope!" Peter hissed through his teeth, irritated, but nodded. "Good, good. Glad to hear it. Come, I want to hear what your friends have found." The large man turned and walked back towards the street, his coiled serrated whip hanging at his side. Nora followed after him, skipping slightly as she did so. Something occurred to her that made her tilt her head. "Why is it good that we haven't found these dust dealers? Isn't that a bad thing?"

Peter looked over his shoulder at the short red haired girl, an amused smile on his face. "You're very energetic, aren't you?" Nora was about to respond when he continued talking "Every street that we find lacking signs of these junkies is another street that isn't under those bastard's control." The two reached the street and their eyes went to the large neon sign that they had chosen to designate their rally point, reading "TATTOO" in large burning letters. Peter looked at the watch on his wrist and nodded, saying "They should be here by now."

Nora looked up at the top of the man's bald head. He was about a head and a half taller than her, and probably weighed around three times as much as her. She jostled her back to make sure that Magnhild was still secure on her back. The grenade launcher sat happily on her back, practically waiting for an opportunity to be used. Nora couldn't blame it, either. If she had to sit there, just waiting for a time to either throw grenades at something, hit something really hard, or do both at the same time, she would probably explode. She giggled to herself as she noticed what she had just done. Maybe it was a good thing that she wasn't her beloved war hammer and grenade launcher. She would probably be in a lot of trouble if she was.

As she walked past one of the many alley ways that dotted the sides of the streets of Vale, one in particular seemed to catch her eye. She couldn't say exactly why, but it just seemed to call out to her. She tapped on Peter's shoulder and said "Excuse me, can I go and look down that one?" while pointing. Peter looked in the direction, raising an eyebrow and asking "Why? What's down there?"

Nora looked from Peter to the alleyway, trying to pinpoint the reason. She was prone to sudden inexplicable urges, but this seemed different. This time it seemed different, though. She was certain that she was being called towards this one. Something wanted her to go down there. She doubted that Peter would believe that, though, and she said "I think I felt something happen with my aura."

Peter nodded and said "Than it would be irresponsible not to go. Do you think that you might need my help?" She shook her head. Something about the mysterious feeling made her think that it would be best if she went alone. Peter shrugged and said "Alright, but I'll be nearby. Just shout if you need anything." She nodded enthusiastically and said "If I need you, you'll probably hear some explosions first." Peter laughed to himself before waving a hand in the direction of the alley and saying "Alright, you go check it out."

She was happy to comply, waiting until traffic on the street they were on subsided than crossing with a series of light, bouncy steps. When she reached the other side, she was sure that she felt a pull towards the alley. Not just the feeling that she should go down it, but a real force pulling her feet towards it. She was happy to follow.

When she came about halfway down the alley, her eyes were drawn to a small object laying on the ground near a pile of trash. It was a thick glass bottle, with one of the heaviest stoppers that she had ever seen. The glass looked slightly cracked, like it had fallen from a great height, but the bottle looked like it was still sound. Inside of the bottle that made Nora take a few steps closer out of pure curiosity.

It looked like a black and red blob of…well, a blob of something. It looked like it was squished in the bottle, and portions of it seemed to appear and disappear infrequently. A dull red glow burned in the middle of it, shining through the undulating black outer skin. It looked strangely fleshy, in a way that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. In spite of this, she felt a kind of bizarre familiarity with the thing. She was sure that she had seen it before.

She knelt down next to it, taking a closer look. What was this thing? She reached a hand out towards it, and as her fingertips just started to brush the glass, the mass inside pulsated. Nora felt the urge to lurch back, but stopped herself, wrapping her fingers around the bottle and lifting it up towards her. The thing in the bottle kept pulsing, and Nora put her fingers at the stopper. Surely whatever this was wasn't dangerous, right?

She pulled of the stopper, and it came off with a loud "pop", and immediately the thing inside the bottle started to work its way out. Nora dropped the bottle, memories of shaken sodas being foremost in her mind. It looked like it was solid, not a liquid. If she had to say what it looked like as it wiggled its way out, she would say some kind of worm. She didn't like worms. Were there Grimm worms?

She looked over her shoulder, just about to call for Peter, when a voice attracted her attention. "You…help." She turned back, looking over the alleyway. There weren't many good places to hide, so unless someone was messing with her…

"Nora… help." The hoarse whisper came again, and this time Nora was able to tell more of a direction. She looked down at the thing, now almost entirely out of the bottle. "Can you talk?" She asked it incredulously, kneeling down beside it. No Grimm could talk, she was sure of that. The thing lifted on end up, Nora assumed the head, and nodded, whispering again "Nora… help."

She tilted her head questioningly. "What can I do to help you? I let you out of the bottle, you're free now!" It wiggled its head from side to side, whispering "No, Nora help. Pick up." Nora raised an eyebrow. What was this thing? Could she trust it? She should call for Peter. Or Jaune. Or Ren, Ren knew a lot of things, he could probably tell her what it was.

She blinked, refocusing on the thing at her feet. It looked small, almost helpless. She knew if she left it, it would probably get eaten by a dog or something. She couldn't just leave it. After all, they had talked! They were basically friends now! With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Nora scooped the thing into her arms. It was warmer than she had expected it to be, and weighed almost nothing. The top layers of it seemed to conform to the shape of her hands, almost like the thing was a water balloon. The sudden urge to throw it against the ground arose, but she stopped herself. She couldn't just do that to her friend.

She reached out to the thing with her aura, trying to see if she could tell any more about it. Her aura touched it, and instantly she felt better, like the thing had some effect on her mood. She smiled. Maybe she could use it to help other people feel good. She turned to leave the alleyway and started walking.

Before she could leave, the thing started to squirm in her arms, squealing "No show! No let see!" she stopped, bouncing the thing up and down like a baby and saying in a gentle voice "Hey, hey, calm down. It's alright, I'm here. I'll keep you safe." The thing stopped squirming, but didn't seem any less distressed. It squealed "Hide me!", and Nora felt the warm comforting feeling fade, replaced by a nervous anxiety. What would happen if they saw this thing? What would they think of her, picking up some random thing and just carrying it around with her like that? They would think that she was crazy.

She looked around for something to hide the thing in. A bag, a bin, she even considered putting it in the bottle again. She knew that it had hated the bottle. She would too, if she were that thing. As she looked, she asked it "What are you?" in a curious voice. There was a short moment of silence before the thing responded "Half… half soul. Need help… to live."

Nora cocked her head. A half soul? Did that exist? Her eyes widened as the thing's earlier words started to make sense. "You… you want me to help you live?" The thing nodded its stumpy worm-like head, and Nora felt…touched. It felt very strange, knowing that something like this would put its very existence in her hands.

She replied excitedly "How do I do it? I want to help!" She felt something about it change, as it had given off a sigh of relief. The thing started to wiggle again, like it was trying to worm its way into her chest. She giggled, holding it away from herself and saying "What are you doing?"

The thing continued to attempt to press against her chest, slipping slightly out of her hands and pointing itself directly at the center of her chest. "Need protect and hide." was its only response. Nora tried to process what her new friend meant. It wanted to hide in her shirt? It might be kind of noticeable, but she supposed that if that was what it would take to make her new friend happy, she was willing. But it didn't seem like that was what it wanted. If it wanted to get in her shirt, it could've simply reared up and slid down the collar. No, she got the distinct feeling that it meant inside of her.

Was that safe? She didn't want a gaping hole in her chest from it forcing its way in. That would probably hurt. It was still pointing at her chest, and Nora started to feel weird just standing there holding it. "This won't, like, hurt me, will it?" she asked hopefully. The worm-like friend in her hands shook its head again, saying "No hurt. Feel good."

Nora supposed that she could see that. Just touching the thing with her aura had cheered her up, maybe by helping it she would feel even better. She loved feeling good. It felt great to feel good.

She gave her new friend a smile, and said "How are we going to do this? Tell me what I have to do." And listened attentively to what it said. "Pull me… into soul. Need warmth." Nora nodded, understanding now. It wanted to hide in her aura, where it would get warmth by the energy that it gave off. It was simple, really. Another small detail occurred to her, and she asked "Who put you in that bottle in the first place?"

The small friend wiggled angrily and spat the name like it was an insult. "Naze the Eternal." Nora's eyes widened as she took in this information. She didn't know anyone with the name "Eternal", but she certainly knew someone by the name Naze. How could he do that to this poor creature? All it really wanted was some protection, like a puppy looking for a home.

With that thought, Nora brought it in close, and squeezed it in a tight hug, doing her best to pull it closer to her with her aura. It squealed slightly, but she could tell that it was a good squeal. Her friend started to almost deflate, and Nora was overcome with a joyous feeling. It was like pure ecstasy pounded through her veins. Her eyes closed, her toes curled, and her knees shook, struggling to keep her standing. She couldn't even think straight. It simply felt too good. She knew immediately that she had made the right choice.

Her arms fell back to her sides, and she breathed heavily, practically immobile. The feeling faded slowly, allowing her to move and think freely again. She looked around her for her new friend, but he was gone. Nora started to feel worried for her little puppy-worm-thing, but quickly became aware of a new, alien sensation. It felt like there was something different. There was a second presence within her own, a small little mind that worked all on its own. She had never imagined such a feeling.

Experimentally, she tried thinking at the new addition to herself. "Is that you?" she asked, her own voice echoing around her aura. The new presence seemed to resonate with her thought before responding in a voice that seemed to mimic her own almost perfectly, just a little too deep and sharp. "Yes, still me." A moment of silence passed between the two before Nora asked "So, what am I supposed to call you?" Again, the new presence seemed to resonate with her thoughts before replying in the same eerily similar voice "Call me whatever you want. I am yours."

Nora noted that that statement had been much more fluent than anything it had said before. Was it learning from her how to speak? There was an almost adorable charm to that. She wondered what else she would be able to teach it. And speaking of teaching…

She turned around and made her way back out of the alleyway, looking for Peter. She spied his light blue padded vest near the front of the large tattoo parlor looking around at the crowd that passed by him. She started walking, again thinking at her new partner, trying to tell anything she could about it. It was small and not very powerful, but it certainly had some kind of strength to it. She could only describe it as potential. It slowly and lazily sucked at the power Nora's aura naturally gave off, and she could tell that it was happy.

She reached the parlor after waiting at a traffic light and weaving her way through a small throng of people, coming to Peter's side after ducking out from the stream of people. Peter nodded to her as she came back into his view, and he clapped her on the back, saying "Find anything down there?" in his gravelly voice.

Nora was about to tell her about the wonderful experience she had had, and about the discovery of her new friend, when a wave of nausea hit her like a brick. She clamped her mouth shut and put one hand over her mouth, the other on her stomach. Peter reacted quickly, kneeling down next to her and asking "Are you alright? What's wrong?" in a concerned voice. She barely heard this, though, as her new voice in her head said "Don't tell him. It's a secret."

The nausea faded, and Nora took a few deep breaths, making sure that her stomach was calm. Peter looked at her, waiting for her to tell him how she was. She smiled weakly and said "No, I didn't find anything. I really thought there was something there, though." This seemed sufficient, and Peter straightened back up, resuming his lookout for Nora's teammates. "Are you alright?" he asked, not looking at her. "You looked like you were about to blow chunks there."

Nora nodded, coming up with the best lie she could as fast as she could. "Yeah, there was some pretty gross garbage down there. No drugs though, which is kind of good, I guess." Peter nodded and said "Yeah, people throw out some pretty rank stuff." Something seemed to catch his attention, and he waved over his head, saying first to Nora "Oh, there they are." before cupping his other hand to his mouth and shouting "Jaune, over here!"

Nora tried to look over the crowd, but she was too short to make out anything over the heads of the people. This annoyed her a little bit, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it. Peter called out again, saying "Over here! Come on!"

It was a few moments before the rest of her team returned, but when they did, Jaune was the first to push his way through the crowd, smiling and waving at both Peter and Nora. He was followed quickly by Pyrrha, who looked very neutral. Behind her came Ren, and seeing him made Nora smile. The three newcomers greeted Peter and Nora, and quickly started talking about what they saw. Nora wasn't paying much attention, though, as she was busy looking at Ren.

There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary, but he seemed to look different somehow. It was a very strange feeling, one that she wasn't familiar with. She had never really been attracted to Ren, at least not in a romantic sense, she had always looked at him more like a friend. Now it seemed that something had changed. Now it seemed that he was…quite desirable.

The voice of her new buddy came through her head, saying "You want him, don't you?" She thought about the question for a moment, not wanting to give her friend an incorrect answer. It would be kind of weird, but she really couldn't deny her feelings. "Yes" she replied in her head "I suppose that I do. Why do you ask?" In return she got the sound that she imagined a shrug would make if it were put into a communicable thought, and "I don't know. Perhaps I could help you… make him yours." This made Nora raise an eyebrow. It sounded kind of weird. She shrugged it off and thought "Maybe later." To her new friend. It was good that they wanted to help her, though.

Her attention returned to the scene at hand as Jaune handed Peter a small note. He took it, looked over it for a few brief seconds, than crumpled it up and tossed it to the ground. "Damn, it looks like we've missed out window of opportunity. They caught wind of our little hunt, and have packed up and gone elsewhere." Pyrrha stepped towards him, saying "Aren't we going to go after them? We can't really just pick up and let them get away, can we?"

Peter put a hand up to set Pyrrha at ease. "I certainly won't, but your job is done. They could have fled to any corner of the globe, and I can't drag you around with me in good conscious on what could very well be a wild goose chase. No, you should go back to Beacon. I'll radio in transport for you, and then I must be off. I'll be sure to call Ozpin, too, and explain the situation, just in case there is any confusion."

Jaune looked down at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck and saying "Well, thanks, I guess. It just feels… kind of wrong to leave this halfway through, you know?" Pyrrha and Ren nodded in agreement, and Peter smiled, clapping Jaune on the back. "You keep that feeling, boy. It'll take you far, and leave no loose ends behind you. But as for this matter, let it go. This isn't your mission, and it isn't your time." Jaune nodded again, saying "Yeah, I guess."

Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, and he smiled over his shoulder, showing his appreciation. Pyrrha then looked back to Peter and bowed her head respectfully, saying "Thank you for your time and patience, Mr. Ciar. It was a pleasure for all of us to work with you." Ren spoke up, saying "Yes, it really was insightful." He looked over at Nora, motioning for her to say something, and she thought she almost felt her heart skip a beat. She had never noticed how deep Ren's eyes were.

She blinked the thoughts away and tried to focus on what he wanted her to do. "Oh, yeah! I had a great time!" Peter bowed his head to the group again and said "Well, maybe I'll see you all out in the field someday. Until then, study hard, keep vigilant in your classes." He turned away from them and started walking away. After taking a few steps, he stopped mid stride and looked over his shoulder, saying "Oh! And if you see Professor Port anytime soon, tell him I said "Hi", would you?" Jaune nodded, saying "Will do." In a very sure manner.

Peter nodded and continued walking, disappearing into the crowd as he pulled his scroll out from a pocket. Jaune turned to Pyrrha and Ren, starting to talk as Nora simply stared at Ren. He addressed the group, saying "So, does anyone have anything else they want to do before we go?" No response came other than silent head shaking, and Jaune nodded. "Aright than, I'm going to call Ruby and see how her mission went." Ren nodded, and Pyrrha took a step towards Jaune, saying "Do you mind if I listen in on that? I would like to talk to her too." Jaune shrugged his shoulders and said "Sure, I don't mind." He looked around at the loud street and motioned towards the tattoo parlor, saying "Maybe we should duck in there for a little quiet."

They all agreed that this was a good idea, and the four pushed through the glass doors and slipped inside. The loud roar of voices, footsteps, and car engines was replaced by the slightly less loud sound of music being pumped through large speakers set in the walls. Jaune pulled out his scroll and selected Ruby's face off a small list before putting the device to his ear. Nora let her eyes wander around the room as she waited for Ruby to pick up.

The air coiled with light smoke, and smelled like dust. The floor was made of long dark wooden planks nailed down, and the walls were made of concrete slabs supported by visible girders and beams all along the ceiling. By the door there was a counter, and a large man with a scraggily beard peered at them from behind a pain of sunglasses. He wore a thick leather jacket, but that was all Nora could see of him. Her eyes were drawn to something behind the man by the dim murmur of conversation. Two men were behind the counter, one laying on an almost flat elevated and cushioned seat, and the other one sitting in a plain wooden chair, a small pistol-like device almost pressing against the other man's arm.

Nora wondered if she could get a tattoo. She had the money for it, but she didn't know what she would get. Her family symbol was good, but was just so… bland. If she was going to get something, she wanted it to be more original. She liked hearts, and she was perfectly comfortable having one on her skin forever. She started to walk towards the counter, but Ren caught her arm, saying "Nora, you don't need a tattoo."

Her shoulders slumped and she pouted at him. "It would look really cool though!" Ren shook his head and replied "It might, but you still don't need it." Nora pouted again, defeated. Ren usually was the voice of reason that curbed her impulses. She knew that she had to listen to him.

The voice in her head spoke up again, saying "If you want a tattoo, you should get one. I think you're right, a heart is the way to go." The words bounced around in Nora's head for a few seconds before she responded "I can't. Ren says I don't need it, so I won't get it." The ethereal voice that only Nora could hear scoffed and said "What, do you let him rule everything about your life? Take some initiative. Men like assertive women." This made Nora cock her head. What was that supposed to mean? She thought Ren was attractive, but…

Her thoughts were interrupted by Jaune exclaiming loudly "Man! Three times! You'd think that she would at least text back or something. Maybe Yang will answer, she always has her scroll on her." He scrolled down the list and selected the next face. Nora bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, waiting impatiently for Jaune to finish his call. Her eyes again drifted to the man in the back who was already receiving a tattoo. She strained her eyes, trying to make out what it was. It was large, and made primarily of black and white. There were small splotches of red, too, and Nora struggled to figure out what it was. After a few moments, the voice spoke again, saying simply "It's a Grimm."

With this knowledge, the picture seemed to make much more sense. The red was the eyes, the black was the hide, and the white was the bone plates. "Thanks!" she replied, thankful for her friend's help. Ren looked over at her, an eyebrow raised, and said "Hm? For what?" Nora clapped a hand over her mouth as she realized that she had spoken instead of only thinking. She giggled and shook her head, saying "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Jaune made another frustrated noise, saying "Alright, something's up. Yang defiantly should have picked up." Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder and said "Maybe they aren't back from their mission yet. I think you should wait until we get back to Beacon. Then we'll know if we're interrupting anything."

Jaune shook his head and said "I just… I can't shake this feeling that something happened. I want to make sure. I'll call one more time, alright? Let's see…" he scrolled through the list some more. "Weiss never picks up when I call her anyways, so I guess Blake it is." He tapped the button and waited. The dull tone that indicated the phone was ringing came from the device several times, and then the voice of the Faunus came through, saying "Hello? Jaune? What do you need?"

This response was somewhat more curt than he had anticipated, taking him off-guard. Nora watched him, a smile on her face. Jaune was funny when he tried to talk to girls. "I, uh, was just calling to… is anything wrong? I just tried to call Ruby three times and Yang twice, and neither one picked up. That isn't normal." All four waited to hear Blake's explanation. There was a heavy moment of silence, followed by Blake heaving a heavy sigh and saying "Are you guys on your way back?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at his teammates while saying "Yeah, we just got transport called for us, why?" There was another short moment of silence before Blake said "Look, I'll explain it to you later, but… Yang…" it sounded like her voice was starting to crack. Pyrrha gave Jaune a worried look, and he said "Blake? Come on, we need to know!"

A deep gasp for air came through the scroll, and Blake choked out the words "Yang… Yang got… killed… on our mission. Ruby's really… not…" it sounded like she was on the very edge of bursting into tears. Jaune's face palled, and he looked to Pyrrha with a shocked expression. She made a few motions for him to keep talking, but the scroll simply sat in between his limp fingers. Pyrrha acted quickly, grabbing the device out of his hands and speaking into it with a commanding voice. "Blake, Pyrrha here, listen; we're going to be there soon. Just… keep it together until we get there. We can talk this out, alright?"

When Blake's voice came back, it was shaky and weak. "Alright. Just hurry." Pyrrha said in as comforting a voice as she could "We will." before hanging up and handing the scroll back to Jaune. No one said a word. Even Nora was speechless, her bubbly attitude finally coming up against something that could crush it.

The voice in the back of her head spoke again, and it provided the only shelter from the harsh feelings she had that she could find. "Don't worry. You're alright. And you've got me now. I can help you through this."

* * *

Solace plodded down the path, his massive boots making sizeable impressions in the dirt as he went, and Judgment sitting on his shoulder, one hand on the handle to keep it steadily in place. The other hand held the thick leather-bound tome that held nearly all the sacred litanies and catechisms of his people. Such an artifact was invaluable to him, but was likely that it was worthless to anyone else. He had never even shown it to anyone else, other than Reisha, of course. He had no secrets from her.

He read his psalms aloud as he walked down the street, his voice echoing off of the sides of the buildings in the large village he was in. A small gathering of people was starting to trail behind him, drawn to the smooth and flowing lines of prayer in a language none of them knew. Solace was glad that they appreciated it, but it was a shame that he could not tell any of them about their true origin. He wished that he could tell them the stories of all the heroes that had bourn the same crest as he did, the Hammer of the Holy Light.

As he walked, a few flashes of bright light from a small television in a store window caught his eye. It was the opening animation to a news broadcast. He didn't watch much television. He was usually doing things other than that, helping people in some way. He didn't have time to lounge around and do nothing. Not until everyone was safe.

The face of a prominent news broadcaster erupted with a flash of color, and the woman's voice came out, saying "Tragedy at Beacon Academy this week, Ya-" before the television started to lose the signal and the image flickered. He knew what was happening. He could see the dark powers working over the device clearly. Unholy energy worked in the air around the thing, the poltergeist starting its work. Solace didn't know why, but they seemed only to be destroying electronics, and only those near him. He couldn't see the beast, but he knew that it was there, along with a second one. He could feel them.

He wracked his brain for anything that they might hope to accomplish by doing something so trivial. It could be that they only wanted to annoy him, but they had to serve a more powerful master, and that person or persons had to have a motive for sending their foul lackeys after him in such a manner. There was something that they didn't want him to know, but what?

He stopped his prayers and turned to the people following behind him, pointing to the now malfunctioning television and asking through his helmet "Do any among you know what that report was about?"

They seemed startled that he had stopped his until now unbroken string of preaching, but one, a man of slight build, stepped forward and said "I-it was about a girl who died training to become a Huntress. Yang Xiao Long, I think her name was. Studying up at Beacon." Solace nodded and turned, continuing his walk in silence now, thinking. If someone did still possess the secrets of necromancy, than a deceased Huntress-in-training would be a prime target for reanimation. It would be extraordinarily bad if someone like that would be able to gain access to more people, possibly even dead fully-fledged Hunters.

His pace quickened and he changed his course. It was all clear now, why had he not seen it before? The two poltergeists were only serving as a distraction, nothing more. When he found whoever was pulling the strings on this insidious plan, he would give them what they deserved. He would give them what all necromancers deserved.

To Beacon he walked.

* * *

Naze let out a deep rumbling sound that had replaced a sigh over the thousands of years. Things were certainly not dull. The orb of control floated a few inches over his palm, displaying the sight of all his minions.

Ruby was making a recovery, if a little slow. All things considered though, she was doing better than he had anticipated. Perhaps his intervention into her mental health wouldn't be necessary after all. It would be one less thing to do, at least. Yang's return would likely bring her almost back to full strength, perhaps with a few more mental scars than she had before, but such was the way of things.

Then there was the matter of Nora. What would he do about Nora? Sure, demons could influence the minds of mortals with even the slightest word, but she had practically served herself on a silver platter to the thing. It was almost like she wanted to become possessed. He shook his head, making a mental note to tell Ozpin about the matter. It would be interesting to see the man's reaction to the situation.

There was also the matter of the Paladin. One of his shades had traced a letter from the man to a small village nearby Vacuo, where apparently he had something of a sweetheart. The girl was the daughter of a blacksmith, and had been saved by the man through use of his holy power to cure a disease. The whole thing sounded rather drab to him, but given the man's position, it was best to keep a tight eye on all his affairs.

The best news was that Taiyang, Yang's father, was planning her funeral. It was what he was waiting for. With the help of a few shades, he had been able to speed the process along, providing a date and time. It was to be held at Beacon, three days from now, late in the evening. He was still working out the smaller details, like decoration and guests, but Naze couldn't care less about such minor things. As long as the press was there, it was to plan.

A voice behind Naze echoed through his chamber, and he knew that Yang wanted something "Excuse me, Naze? Can we talk about something?" He let the orb fall back to his palm, closing his fingers around it and turning to face the ghost. She had faded slightly since Azrile had provided her power, but still had a considerable amount of energy. He knew where she had been lately. She had been watching her sister, trying to provide her any comfort that she could from the realm of the dead. Unfortunately for her, this was a very limited amount.

Naze nodded and said "Yes, we both have the time." Yang nodded, but the anxious look on her face didn't fade. "Look, I know that you've got some kind of a "grand plan" here, but I really need to get back to Ruby. She's starting to get really bad, and I think if I don't talk to her things are going to get a lot worse."

Naze stayed silent for a moment, letting her anxiously wait for his response. The more time she had to think, the better. After she had sufficiently stewed, he turned to her and said "Yang, I'm afraid I can't let you do that. I know that you have your sister at the center of your heart, but my answer is no."

Silence pervaded, and Yang only stared at him. He stared back, waiting for the outburst that would inevitably come. Yang's fists clenched tighter and tighter, and her form became more and more corporeal as her rage grew. Finally, the tension snapped, and Yang cried out "How can you do this? Just sit in the shadows and wait for everything to line up to how you want it? That's not how life works! You have to get out there and deal with it! Are you really just going to sit by and do nothing as my sister goes insane?"

Naze responded with the cold, hard logic that he always used. "I'm sure I need not tell you that I am not, in fact, alive. Thus, this is how it works. I have a virtual eternity ahead of me, and I can wait as long as I wish. I am the one in control of this situation." He could feel Yang preparing to lash out at him, but did nothing to stop it. "If you want to help your sister, you will follow my plan. If you don't want to follow my plan, than I would be happy to let you go."

Yang broke. All the frustration that had built up watching her sister deteriorate over the past few days had simply been too much to bear. She had to let out her frustration. She sped towards him, one fist cocked back, flame spitting off of it angrily. The rage on her face told a clear picture of what she wanted to happen next, and Naze was almost inclined to let it happen. He rose no defense against the attack, only watching her come with cold, unwavering eyes.

She stopped just in front of him and hurled the strongest punch she had ever managed. Her fist screamed towards him, and she poured as much energy into it as she could. The flame that had been steadily streaming from her hand turned more into a geyser, flames licking the edges of Naze's robes.

He waited until the last second before raising a hand, straight up and palm towards her. A spell pulsed out, rushing out both engulfing Yang and passing through her. The fire died, and her energy sapped. Her fist didn't even impact Naze's hand, passing straight through without resistance. She fell to her knees, and suddenly the yawning hole of sleep seemed much bigger.

She was just able to hear Naze say "This is where you would be without my intervention. If you wish, I could release you from my plan, and you could stay like this. Alternatively, you could be returned to the state you were in moments before, and eventually receive more power once you are returned to your body. The choice is yours."

Yang looked up at him, her form barely distinguishable from the ethereal mist that surrounded her. "Please…I'll… I'll do it." Naze nodded, satisfied with this. He made a small gesture towards her, and a stream of necromantic energy rushed towards her. Her shoulders relaxed as relief washed over her, and she stopped having to resist slipping into the void. She stood, not even remembering falling. "I… I, uh…"

Naze interrupted her, saying "Your funeral is in three days. That is when you will be resurrected. In the meantime make whatever preparations you feel necessary. Do not give me any further issues, and we will be fine."

She nodded, knowing that she was probably getting off lucky.

Naze turned back to his orb, making sure that his plan would come together. Yang might be hurt, but she would get over it. He would've liked to be slightly more merciful, but he had a plan, and he was unwilling to take any risks that could upset the careful preparations he had made. After it was all over, he would loosen up. But that was three days away. There were still many things to do.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Thing:

Holy Jesus this is over 10,000 words. I feel pretty good. So stuff happens in this one. Tell what you think, please, I need it. like crack.

If you know some people, why not share it a little? I would appreciate that.

Thanks!

* * *

Ozpin looked out from his office window over the sprawl that was Vale. He felt strange. For a very long time, he had believed that he lived in a great time, when great advances against humanity's age-old enemy, the Grimm, had been made, and when science was making huge leaps and bounds forward. Even the amount of discrimination against nonhuman members of society was going down, something that signaled the dawning of a new age as the Faunus attained the equal rights that they deserved, and started to contribute all they could to the gestalt pool that was humanities worth and achievements.

And now he was forced to confront the possibility that this was not the case. For a very long time, he thought that he trained some of the most powerful warriors that the world had ever seen. For the first time he was faced with the idea that there could not only be more powerful warriors than the ones that he produced, but that they may still exist, and even be able to fight.

He didn't want to face the possibility, but he would be a fool to deny it. If what Naze had said was true, than it was likely that the entirety of what he knew, the civilization of Remnant, was nothing special. He shook his head defiantly to himself. He wouldn't let that discourage him. He would let it drive him. He would strive to make his people remarkable. He would drive his people to be remarkable in the annals of history as best he could, and try and build a legacy. Whoever had come before them had certainly been forgotten, but perhaps they could be remembered, if Naze would allow them to be. He could only hope that whoever came in the future would look back upon him and his people and see a brighter pyre of hope than their ancestors had left for them.

It wouldn't be an easy path, but at least he knew now what he wanted to do. And that was as much as he could for those who would come next. He had the distinct feeling that things were about to make a pitching change, and that he would have a rather large role to play in how things would go. Trying to ensure the futures safety and benefit by building up the present seemed the most logical thing to do.

He took a long drink from the coffee mug in his hand as he looked out over Vale. Things had come far in his lifetime, but there was surely plenty of room for improvement. If Naze was the one to bring it, than he would be happy to take it.

* * *

Weiss and Blake both looked at each other nervously, not sure as to how well Ruby would take to being outside again after so long of being cooped up inside for so long. She was barely recognizable from the Ruby that they had both gotten to know and grown somewhat fond of over time. That Ruby was an optimistic Ruby, one that tried to bring out the good, no matter the scenario. The Ruby that stood between them was not that Ruby. Her hair was oily and messy, having grown bedraggled and uncared for. Her skin was now almost as pale as Weiss's, and with an almost sickly undertone of yellow. Her eyes were bloodshot, and darted around in uneven, random patterns instead of taking in her environment as a whole. Her body shook constantly, and for what reason the two girls didn't know. It was a warm day, she had eaten well in comparison to how she had been, and she had assured the two that she had even been feeling better.

The Ruby Rose that the both of them had known seemed to have been changed completely, and they couldn't say whether or not they had escaped these changes either. Both had felt more tired than they could remember feeling in recent days, and both had found it extremely hard to concentrate. They supposed this was to be expected, though. The least they could do was to try and make things a little better. They had convinced Ruby to come out and look at the place Yang's funeral would be held.

Ruby would likely become a little sadder at this, but they thought that the fresh air would do the poor girl some good. They had both already been, even helping put up some of the decorations, and they would say that the room was nothing short of beautiful. All they could do was hope that it would suit Yang.

Ruby still wore the cloak and hood that she had consistently since coming back from that mission. It was stained with Yang's blood, which had dried quite a bit since being spilt, now making the cloak look like it had disgusting black scabs on it. Nevertheless, they knew better than to try and take it. To Ruby, it was invaluable. Blake and Weiss had disagreed on many things, but what they had to do with Ruby was not one of them. They had to help her in any way they could. They owed it to her.

As they walked, Blake and Weiss made sure to stay close to Ruby's sides, almost touching her. She got more nervous and distressed the further she got from them. People's heads turned as they walked past, some recognizing the trio from the stories that had been passed around by either word of mouth or the news, and some not. All could tell that there was something deeply wrong with the girl in the stained red and black hood.

Weiss and Blake did their best to block the stares, but it was obvious that they were starting to upset Ruby. She was starting to look around her frantically, and her breathing was starting to quicken. Blake an arm over Ruby's shoulder, whispering "It's alright, you're okay. Nothing is going to happen." in as soothing a voice as she could. Weiss wished that she could do something for her friend. She was no good at comforting, though, as she had found out during their time together when Blake was out doing things. It occurred to her that Blake had never told her if she had talked to Naze about the news broadcasts, but she knew better than to bring it up in front of Ruby. They didn't need her to break down in the middle of campus. She pushed the matter to the back of her mind, and breathed a sigh of relief as the building that was being prepared for Yang's funeral came into view.

It was a bittersweet feeling, thinking about what lay inside those doors. Both her and Blake ushered Ruby more quickly to them, and she was happy to retreat from the prying eyes. They walked up the few steps and opened the doors, taking in the interior of the building.

The room was the same that had been used for the dance earlier in the year now looked entirely different. There were numerous rows of pews facing the opposite end of the room, at which there was a raised platform and a solitary casket, with a sleek black body and a glass hinged lid. Ruby found the thing bizarrely alluring. She started to walk towards it with slow, shuffling steps. Weiss and Blake looked at each other again, worried, but followed uncertainly.

They were about halfway down the middle isle when the people in the room took notice of them. Jaune called out from atop a ladder, in the middle of hanging a banner. "Hey, Ruby!" She jumped at the sudden noise, and looked over to see Jaune making his way hurriedly down the ladder towards them. Other footsteps from around the room alerted her to the approach of three others. She quickly looked around to find Ren and Pyrrha running towards her from behind various obstructions that had kept them from initial sight. She tried to muster a smile for her other friends, they hadn't really seen how terribly she was doing.

"Hi Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora. How are you guys?" Even her voice sounded tired. Their expressions changed to more worried ones, and Pyrrha put a hand on Ruby's back saying "Ruby, I… we would love to do anything we can to make you feel better. If there's… if there is anything we can do to make you feel better, we would be happy to do it."

Ruby shook her head, continuing to walk towards the coffin. She wanted to see where her sister would be laid to rest. She knew that she would look like she was asleep, and for some strange reason she wanted to make sure that her sister would be comfortable in her final resting place. She reached it, walking up the stairs and looking in through the glass lid. It looked comfortable. It looked like a place that she wanted to curl up and fall asleep.

The others walked slowly up behind her, not sure what she was doing. She rested a hand flat on the curvature of the glass lid, wondering how Yang would look as she would lay still in there, still as a stone. She hadn't seen her sister since the Bullhead, and she was somewhat afraid of what she would find when she did. What if she didn't even recognize her? She shook her head to herself. She couldn't think like that. She couldn't forget her sister, and there was no amount of damage that would make her not able to recognize her.

A warm hand on her shoulder made her look away from the glass, and she found Jaune giving her a very sympathetic look. There was a hurt look in his eyes that she suspected was something of a reflection of her own pain. Something occurred to her, and she looked around at the others standing around Jaune, starting to see a commonality that made her heart drop even further than it already had. They all shared the same hurt and worried expression, and none of them looked like they should. They all looked worse somehow, like they had been weathered down by her sadness.

An immense feeling of guilt washed over her, mixing with the miasma of depression that had been present over her for what felt like so long. She felt her eyes starting to water, and her body starting to shake again. The others must have seen her starting to break, because Jaune took another step towards her, putting his hands up in a calming fashion and saying "Hey, calm down, it's alright, nothing is going to-" he never got to finish his sentence, because before he could Ruby darted past him, leaving a trail of rose pedals in her wake.

Jaune ducked out of the way to avoid colliding with her, and the rest of her friends did effectively the same thing as she went dashing off towards the doors. Only Weiss made any attempt to stop her, reaching out a hand in hopes of catching her cloak while shouting "Ruby! Come back!"

She didn't give in to her partner's request, instead rushing at the doors with as much speed as she could muster. Her semblance blazed brighter than it had in a very long time, and for a brief moment, she was able to forget all that had happened to her over the last few days. She poured herself into it, running faster than she ever had before. It was strangely calming.

She collided with the doors, flinging them open and bursting out faster than she could process. Her feet carried her so fast that she was a blur, even to herself. She poured even more of herself into running, letting it flood her mind and take hold of her every thought. Maybe if she just kept running, she wouldn't have to think about anything anymore. She could just leave school behind. She could leave the funeral behind her. She could leave everything that she had known before and simply move on. It would be so much easier.

One of the many people on the street took a step in front of her, and she was traveling too fast to stop. She squeaked and brought her arms up, trying to offset some of the damage that would inevitably result from the collision. The two people met, and the poor individual who had strayed onto Ruby path was swept immediately off of their feet. The last thing that Ruby was able to think before the tangle of limbs collided with the hard pavement, and everything went black.

* * *

Yang worked her hands incessantly, clenching and unclenching her fists despite the fact that doing so offered no relief from her anxiety. But how was she expected to contain herself? She had been dead for about a weak, and forbidden to contact her sister to let her know that everything was alright (or, as alright as they could be, considering the circumstances). She had paid a few visits to Ruby, and knew that she needed her help. She had become depressed, and Yang could hardly stand to simply watch idly as her sister destroyed herself. She had even gone so far as to attack Naze. That wasn't a mistake she would be making again.

Things after she had lashed out so violently had felt weird for a little bit, but it became clear quickly after that Naze didn't hold grudges or take offence easily. The way he treated her hadn't changed, and she was glad for it. If she was going to be working for him the rest of her earthly existence, having tension like that between them would make things very strange.

She had spent all the time that she hadn't spent watching her sister learning about the others in Naze's service. What she found surprised her. She had expected a bunch of crotchety old man types, shuffling around slowly and droning on and on about their research. While there were a few like that, most were incredibly down to earth and, dare she say it, amusing. There were a few that really stood out to her; Brazen, the Forge Master, was always good for a laugh. And then there was Skull Taker (Yang had learned that many undead chose new names when they got brought back. It had appealed to her at first, but she decided that she liked Yang that best), a zoologist who had been around for "a couple thousand years" by his own count.

He and Yang had spent a long time talking about different monsters that had existed over the years. It was difficult for her to believe that there had ever been anything more dangerous than the Grimm, but it was a somewhat humbling experience to hear about the great beasts that used to roam the world; of the dragons that used to rain fire down on the world below them, and colossal titans of earth that melded vast stretches of land into mountains and seas. They spent hours talking about one monster or the next, and she told him all about the Grimm that she had fought.

In the end, though, there was one servant of Naze's who really caught and held her attention, a woman by the name of Bella Certamen. She stood around six feet tall, wore a fully covering suit of obsidian black plate armor, and used a naginata that was about seven feet tall from base to tip. The blade of the weapon was two feet long, and bore several runes of flame, allowing her a mild amount of control over the element in battle. Her face was discolored, but not too disfigured that it erased the narrow features of her pointed face, prominent cheekbones, and scowl wrinkles.

She was the ziggurat's head of security, and Yang thought that she was a major badass. She had been in service to Naze for somewhere close to eight hundred years, and had spent seven hundred of those years managing the guards of the ziggurat. She was pretty cool personally, but Yang was really impressed by how stone cold she was when on the job. She had a garrison of soldiers, small in comparison to the number of inhabitants of the ziggurat, only about one hundred and fifty in total, but Yang found out why quickly after asking. She had gotten the response "Because we only need to start a chain, and the necromancers will do the rest."

She didn't give any slack to her guards, expecting only the best from them. Yang had sat in on a few of their drills, and she concluded that she wouldn't want to come up against that force of warriors under any circumstances. It was obvious that each one had had hundreds of years of training, and watching them bout against one another was like watching a whirlwind of weapons trying to outmatch the others.

Of the one hundred and fifty soldiers, there were twenty five who had apparently distinguished themselves above all others. How they did this, Yang didn't know, but she hadn't had the opportunity to speak to them. She had only seen them fight, and from what she saw, they were the best of the best. They were called Death Knights, and they were obviously the scariest of the bunch. Each one had the same kind of armor as Bella, but acted far differently. Each one had an ankle length black cape on their armor, and each one wielded a weapon that would make Ruby drool all over herself. There was no standard weapon, each one had a different type, but all of them bore the same hallmarks. All were made of the same stygian metal, and all seemed to burn with the same otherworldly energy, throwing off a hot orange glow from whatever the part of the weapon was that hurt people, whether it was point, edge, or head.

It had been a while before she had gotten a good look at their faces, or heard their voices, but when she did she wasn't disappointed. They were all just as frightening as she would've hoped. They wore no helmets, allowing their faces to be out in the open. The only reason it took Yang so long to see them was because they seemed to keep their hoods up most of the time. When they finally dropped, Yang had felt the sudden urge to move the opposite direction. Their eye sockets were empty, all except for pinpricks of the same blazing orange that covered their weapons. Their physical condition surprised Yang for how highly regarded they were. Their face was almost completely rotted away, leaving only small patches of what was once likely skin. The bone of their skulls was blackened beyond what looked like could've been from flame. They had a wholly evil look about them, but Yang was quickly learning that appearances meant little.

It was now that she spent the rest of her time as a ghost with Bella. Neither of the girls were doing anything other than waiting, and both were eager to get back out into the world. They had just finished a chat about how dust was being used as weaponry, and Yang wanted to move onto more personal topics. She wanted to know Bella's story. The two were standing by the side of a combat ring, watching idly as a few soldiers cared for their weapons, sharpening, polishing, and cleaning them with the utmost care.

"So, Bella…" she still wasn't entirely sure how to approach this topic. It just seemed very strange to ask someone how they died. "…how is it that you came to find yourself in this… rather unique position?" Bella looked over at her, shoulder-length dirty remnants of hair brushing against her armor. Her helmet was sitting on the floor next to her, having been removed after she had finished dueling with one of her subordinates. She looked over at Yang, thinking for a moment before saying "I did well as a commander. Not much more to it than that."

Yang rolled her eyes and said "No, no, I mean, how did you come into Naze's service? How did you meet him?" Bella waved a hand dismissively and said "Ah, my life story. Not really much to that, either." Yang moved a little closer, indicating her interest, and Bella sighed. "I guess we've got time to kill." she said, adjusting her posture and facing Yang.

"Alright, I was born into a royal family, but my father, the king, already had a son. His name was Edward. I don't think we were even related, but that's not the point. My father was a great general. He was one of the best tacticians that ever lived, and King of one of the last kingdoms to not bend a knee to the Order of the Holy Light. He hated giving his loyalty to anyone, and as a result he spent quite a bit of time ensuring that the Order was never allowed inside of his borders. This wasn't too bad, but he was also a bit of a hothead. The Black Morass was just on the border of his lands, and he hated it with a passion."

"I was about thirty, and serving in the royal guard when he decided that leading an attack on the cursed swamp would be a good idea. He was going to succeed where generations upon generations of Paladins had failed." She rolled her eyes exasperatedly "I told him that this was a bad idea, but he was sure that he could do it. I still remember what he said to me; "Bella, you've my brain for battle and skill with a blade, but you've got your mother's nerves". That's what he said to me. I knew the difference between valor and stupidity, but I wasn't about to tell him that. He made it clear that when I wore the royal armor, I wasn't a princess anymore. If I gave him lip, I would've been discharged from the military altogether, and I couldn't bear that. I was a bit headstrong too, back then." She looked again over the troops cleaning their weapons and said to herself "Heh, I guess I am still now, actually."

She shook her head "Anyways, he gave this big speech to the people about how he would rid the land of the black stain that had infested it for so long, got the people all riled up, and then charged off towards the Black Morass, army right behind him, and royal guard at his sides. It didn't take long to come to the edge of that place." She looked off into the distance as she seemed to remember something. "Understand, kid, it wasn't like what it is now. I hear you walked through it, right?" Yang nodded, and Bella shook her head again. "That'd be a death sentence back in my day. A lot more people wanted Lord Naze gone, so he made it a lot more dangerous. There were more curses, traps, and tricks than you could possibly count. Mist was so thick you could barely see three feet in front of you, and water that would rot your foot off in a couple of hours. We lost lots of good people like that." Her face seemed to drop slightly. "People would fall in the water, and just never come back up. Those who did come back up were… well, I know now what they were, but at the time I had never seen a zombie. Lone zombies weren't very dangerous, but they wrecked hell on moral. I started to see the bigger picture of the thing about then, and tried again to get my father to call off the attack. He was as stubborn as ever, though, and was sure that he could destroy the evil."

Yang was enraptured by the tale. It seemed so strange, Kings and zombies. She hardly believed it, but the serious look on Bella's face told all that she needed to consider it truth. "So we kept going on this death march, onwards towards the center of the swamp. Things just kept getting worse and worse, until eventually we came to the crater. It was a bizarre sight, such a replete and lush place at the center of all of this death. We hurried down, spirits raised. We had finally made it. We could go in, finish off this beast, and go home." She snorted amusedly and said "I'm sure you can imagine how that went. Here we were, this ragged force, tired from weeks stumbling through a giant deathtrap, going up against the forces of Naze the Eternal."

Yang's jaw dropped, and she asked "Well? What happened? How did the battle go?" Bella raised an eyebrow and looked down at herself before looking back to Yang with a mocking look. "How do you think?" she asked sarcastically. Yang put her hands up exasperatedly and said "Come on! You have to finish the story!"

Bella laughed and said "Alright, fine. Well, we charged at the ziggurat, but we never even made it half way. A wall of things that make me sick to think about even now stood between us and the ziggurat, all twisted up like some child with a brain disease had molded them out of clay. I remember seeing Morgana swinging around among the ranks, applying some last minute formulas to her monstrosities to make sure they were ready. At the time there weren't much in the way of soldiers here, so behind them was the mages; necromancers and pyromancers, basically everyone showed up to lob a few spells at the idiots who thought they stood a chance."

"My father shouted for a charge, trying to rally the troops. He yelled for no one to stop until Naze was dead, and to not stall for anything. This was about when I considered bolting. It was ridiculous. Was this really all that my father had planned? I only got one good look at him before his charge started, and what I saw frightened me. My father had bloodshot eyes, and his face was wild. He normally put a lot of effort into how he looked before a battle, but his armor was lopsided and out of order. That was when I was sure that he had gone absolutely insane. Maybe he was like that before he went in to the swamp, maybe he wasn't, but it was clear that he wasn't fit to lead."

"I looked around and saw that the others of the Royal Guard were all hesitating, just like me. They wanted someone to do something, but none wanted to be the ones to take the flak for it. I knew it was up to me to lead this attack, because a straight-up charge would be a real fast way to get everyone killed. I clubbed my father over the head with the blunt of my naginata and turned to the army, expecting to have to fight of some loyalist idiots who were willing to kill themselves like that. All I saw were faces looking back at me with worried, fearful expressions. I looked over my shoulder, and I remember seeing that wall of rot, just waiting for us. Thinking back, I think some of whatever got into my father's head got into mine too, because I thought that continuing the attack was a good idea."

"I formed the soldiers up into teams and got them into formation. Diamond formation, most heavily armored on the outside and anyone with reach directly behind them. That put me right at the tip of the charge, just behind the first shieldbearer. And…well…we charged. I really don't remember much of the fight after that, it was just hacking our way through countless gibbering nightmares, hoping that we would reach the end of the hoard. The whole time people were getting pulled away and dragged off, screaming for help, but there was nothing we could do except keep pushing forward. I don't know how long that went on for, but it felt like weeks. Eventually I noticed that there were a lot fewer people behind me, and I knew that we were doomed. The diamond collapsed from behind, and we didn't stand a chance. That was when the man in front of me got killed. A ghoul just leapt from the side and managed to get its mouth right in a chink in his armor."

"I kicked into overdrive after that. I don't remember anything but my vision going red and my body acting on its own. I diced my way through more rotting bodies than I could count. I started to tire, though. Looking back, I think that Naze probably ordered a lot of his minions to clear a way for me, because there was no way that I was really able to get all the way through that wall. But, I did. That was when I saw him. I was the only one who had even been able to reach the one person we were supposed to kill. An entire army, and I was the only one."

"I charged him without thinking. My body was screaming at me to stop and rest, but I couldn't. All those people hadn't died so that I could rest. I charged him, and I was just about to strike him right in the heart with my steel" She chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "That was when he put his hand up and killed me." She snapped her fingers "Just like that. In the blink of an eye, I was dead. All that effort went to nothing."

Yang was having a hard time processing what she had just heard. "You… you're a badass!" was all she could manage to say in the face of such a story. Bella smiled again and nodded, saying "Yeah, I guess I kind of am, aren't I?" Both she and Yang laughed.

The two sat after that, watching the weapons being cleaned. Sometime after that, a great presence seemed to approach from behind them. Bella jumped to her feet immediately, grabbing her naginata and her helmet, standing at attention. Yang looked to what she was looking at, and found Naze walking into the room. She stood as well, not wanting to miss anything that he said.

Naze walked to them, eyes passing over the soldiers as they cared for their weapons, before looking to Yang and saying "It is nearly time. I want both of you ready to go soon. Morgana and Blaze are also coming, and we'll set out as soon as the funeral starts." Bella put a hand across her chest, thumping loudly against her breastplate. "Yes, Sire! Right away!" She went tromping off, boots heavily thudding against the floor. Naze looked to Yang, an inquisitive look coming across his skull. "Are you ready to start representing what you've come to know?"

She nodded, a cocky smile coming across her face. "You bet! No one will be able to turn you guys down with me as your spokesman!" Naze's face seemed to brighten implacably, and he said "Good. I look forward to seeing you work."

With that, Naze turned to leave. Yang watched him go, wondering how things would go tonight. Would she see her father? She hoped she would. She didn't want him to be as shut down as he had been when her mother had died. She wouldn't be able to enjoy herself returning to the realm of the living if her father was to sink into such a deep depression again.

* * *

Blake looked around the bed room, glad that she could peer through the darkness as easily as the other's did through light. Ruby was sleeping fitfully, tossing and turning beneath her covers, murmuring about the horrors that only she could see. Blake looked to the bed below Ruby, spying Weiss snoring softly beneath the covers. She looked like she slept much more soundly than her partner, but an insomniac would probably sleep more soundly than Ruby.

Blake slid off the side of her bed and dropped silently to the floor. She started walking towards the door, stopping briefly by the set of drawers to pick up the bobby pins that she needed to do what she was going to do. She took hold of the door handle and opened it slowly, careful to make no noise as she did so. It was in this slow, careful manner that she slinked out into the hall, absolutely silent.

Now free from her team mates, she walked across the hall and over one door to Naze's room. She hadn't seen the boy in days, and she was starting to get suspicious. If he did have something to do with the media blitz that had surrounded Yang's death, she wanted to know. She wanted to know, and to make him know how much worse he had made things for everyone. She brought the needles and pins up to the lock and started to work, hoping that she would be able to handle this quickly. If worse came to worst, she wasn't sure that she could overpower him. She had the advantage of night vision, but that would only matter as long as the lights were off.

It was after about a solid half hour before Blake felt that it was hopeless. Something was holding the door shut beyond the lock. If she didn't know better, she would've said that it had been nailed shut. She worked her jaw, frustrated for a few moments, before an alternative worked its way into her mind. Naze might have somehow sealed the door, but she was willing to bet that he hadn't shut his windows.

She was quick to make her way to the bottom of the building and scamper as best she could up the side of the building. There were a few close calls where she almost slipped and tumbled back down to the ground, but she was able to cling to miniscule finger holds to stay safe. She reached the window that peered into Naze's room and eagerly situated herself on the sill, allowing her sore and lightly bleeding fingers to heal with a small flexing of her aura. She looked into the window, and what she found was quite a surprise.

She had expected Naze to be under his covers, sleeping, or perhaps not in his room at all, but she had certainly not expected to see him standing in the middle of his room facing a wall, as stiff as a board. She watched for several seconds, than confirmed to herself that he wasn't even breathing. A feeling of concern came over her, and she felt the urge to help. What if he had some kind of medical condition that he hadn't told them about? How long had he been there?

She tapped on the glass, hoping to elicit some reaction from the statue of a person on the other side of the pane. He didn't so much as flinch, though, and Blake decided that she had to get in there somehow. Again she withdrew the tools that she had hoped to subvert his door lock with and set immediately to opening the window without breaking it. The process took some doing, but after a few minutes the window popped off its latch and swung open. She had to react quickly to avoid being knocked back by the swinging motion, but slipped inside the room gracefully.

The first thing that she was concerned with was Naze, but that didn't mean that he was the only thing that her sight went to. A large circle of chalk, smudged in places by why looked like footprints, was laid out on the floor. It looked far too ornate and detailed to simply be decoration, though what purpose it could possibly serve she didn't know. A similar circle was on the wall, but the pattern on the inside was completely different, with far fewer aggressive angles and points.

She shook her head and turned back to Naze, reminding herself that he could be dead. First she walked in front of him, waving a hand and seeing if his eyes followed. They didn't, and she knew that that was a bad sign. They only stared ahead, glassy and dull, the slightly intrusive spark of intellect gone from them completely. She put a hand out to his neck and feeling for a pulse. When her fingers touched his skin, she withdrew them with a gasp. He was not only as cold as the stone exterior of the building, but he was also about as stiff.

She shook her head. This was crazy. She needed to get help. She started back towards the window when a vice-like grip closed around her wrist. She cried out, the bones in her wrist protesting the sudden pressure, and turned to face whatever it was that had caught a hold of her. Naze stared back at her through the darkness. Blake was only able to look at him for half a second before feeling her body drift away from her. She tried to fight it, knowing that now especially was no time to fall asleep, but it was no use. Her body slumped to the floor, and she started to dream.

When next she awoke, she opened her eyes to find the ceiling of her room close above her. She pushed herself up, rubbing her head and trying to remember her dream. There was…Naze's face… she was outside…

She dismissed it. Strange dreams were no strangers to her. She was used to them, she just usually remembered them more.

* * *

Naze stood waiting by the chalk portal for the time to turn right. The orb of control in his hand blazed slightly, but he didn't use it. The puppet body was already present at the funeral, seated and positioned to look sufficiently emotional. It was before the bulk of those who would be present arrived, and before the corpse had even been brought to the coffin.

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake had all also shown up early, as had Ruby's father and the school's officials. The school officials were up on the elevated platform, adjusting a podium that sat beside the coffin. There were numerous flowers and banners set all around the walls. Most of the flowers were yellow, a reference to her favorite color, he was sure. The banners were of pictures of her that had been taken through the years, all of which featured Yang with a large smile in the focus. Many of the pictures included her friends or, most commonly, Ruby.

Ruby was sitting on a bench at the front of the rows, her arms around her father, shuttering and shaking as she cried. Her father was more stoic, stroking her head and whispering to her quietly. In spite of his obviously forced straight face, a steady stream of tears leaked from his face. Weiss and Blake sat next to Ruby, looking at their feet solemnly, thinking about what they would say during the speech that would no doubt be a struggle to get through.

Near the back of the large room, cameras were being set up by various media personnel in order to capture the tragedy. As it turned out, a sympathetic story like Yang's had brought them great ratings, just as Naze expected it to, and in many people's eyes Yang was nothing short of a hero. All the better, a respected diplomat was an effective one. But the body wasn't present, and the cameras weren't rolling yet. But Naze could wait. That was one of the perks of being dead, patience was something that came incredibly easily.

He turned his attention elsewhere in the orb, looking at the Paladin. He had made good time, and would arrive in time to attend the proceedings. The poltergeists Naze had made were not going to be able to stop him, even if they simply started attacking him. He would exercise them without issue, then there would be immediate hostilities on Naze's part between the two. He wanted it to be clear that he didn't want to fight.

Time kept moving in the fashion it always did, and Naze found himself at the right time quite hastily. Hours had passed in what had seemed to him the blink of an eye.

He put out the mental call for Yang, Morgana, Brazen, and Bella to join him in his study, and all four quickly walked in the open archway that led out into the halls, Yang and Bella looking eager, while Brazen and Morgana merely looked prepared. Bella had taken the time to polish her amour and weapon, giving both a glassy sheen. Morgana looked much as she always did, crawling along the floor on all four limbs bent out at strange and unnatural looking positions. Vials and flasks of various sickly-looking fluids and gels clinked and clattered on her chest, and the narrow slit in the burlap bag that afforded her sight seemed slightly larger than it had been last time he saw her. He wondered if she had enlarged her eyes. Brazen, ever the one for simple appearances in everything but his creations, simply carried Yang's replacement mechanical arm in one hand, and a heavy smithing hammer in the other. His head jerked from one position to another occasionally, but was mostly stable. The linens that he had chosen to wear bore obvious heat damage, being charred and frayed on the edges.

Naze noted with some amusement that without Yang, they were essentially a team of Hunters, masters of their respective crafts. He turned to the portal and started to feed energy into it. The rune on the wall voraciously consumed this before the wall on which it was inscribed seemed to shiver and blink before disappearing entirely, being replaced with a circular passage into Naze's dorm room.

He took one final look into the orb of domination, making sure that the event was proceeding to schedule. His puppet body looked up from its position, and found Ozpin standing behind the podium, clearing his throat and looking out at what was now hundreds of faces peering back up at him with baleful expressions. The room had been entirely filled in the lapse of Naze's attention. He was careful to avoid pouring too much focus into the body so that he gave no premature warning to the Paladin, who was seated in the front, near Ruby.

Ozpin spoke, saying "My dearest friends, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of a great person. Yang Xiao Long was one of the most energetic and genuine people to ever have walked through the gates to this school. I believe that-" Naze withdrew from the body and nodded to the rest of his team. Everything was proceeding exactly to the plan.

He stepped through the magical gateway, and immediately a change of what the air normally felt like in the dorm building could be observed. He hardly noticed it, but it was so drastic that missing it was near impossible. The normally slightly stuffy and warm air turned icy and foul, with an inexplicable sense of deeply rooted foreboding and death on the breeze.

His fellows followed him, and it was seconds before the door opened, and Naze stepped out. Something occurred to him that hadn't before, so minor a detail was it, and he took several seconds to weave a simple levitation spell before putting power into it and feeling himself float off the ground about half a foot. His merest touch was fatal to almost all biological life, so it would be a good idea to refrain from unnecessary contact with anything.

He started to float along, driven forward by nothing but the power of his thoughts. His followers plodded along behind him, Bella's boots being the heaviest of steps. He supposed that it was about time to cast the second spell, this one far more important than the levitation. He expanded his raw power out in a sphere around him, using his mind's immense presence to snuff out the consciousness of the smaller minds around him. All throughout the dorm building, people who hadn't gone to the funeral collapsed. They would remain in a comatose state for several hours before their minds would be able to rekindle their awareness.

Yang was the first to speak, saying "Man, it feels different now. Is that something you did, or is it just because I'm dead?" Bella was fast to respond, saying "Likely some combination of the two. Naze is using his magic to suppress the living around us. He doesn't like to be interrupted."

The group made their way out of the building, passing a few softly breathing bodies slumped against the walls and floor. Yang couldn't help but feel a little worried for them, but if Bella said they would be fine, she believed her.

The strange looking group started to walk across the campus of Beacon, every person who was still out at the late hour falling unconscious to the ground as soon as Naze's eyes turned to them. It wasn't long at all before they came to the doors to the building, and Naze made to open it with a wave of his hand. Before he could, Yang shouted "Wait!" in a suddenly worried voice.

Naze stopped, freezing all movement immediately before looking back at her. "I…sorry, I'm just feeling a little anxious. I mean, what if they don't like me? What if they think I'm…" Morgana shook her head from her position on the ground, sitting up on her heels dexterously, saying "It doesn't matter. You said that you would do this, and that's the only way you're going to get your body back." Yang closed her eyes, focused silently for a few moments, than looked back up at the door, nodding. "Alright, I'm good. Sorry about that, I won't let it happen again."

With that, Naze continued his way into the building.

* * *

Solace stood, armor making something of a racket, and walked up to the coffin with the throng of others from his row. Ruby, the girls sister, and her two friends, Blake and Weiss, as well as her father, Taiyang, all stood on the opposite side of the coffin in various states of grief. The father and sister looked the most hurt, Blake after that, and Weiss last. He wished that he could do something to help them, but there was no prayer in the book at his side that could bring the dead back to life. The line slowly passed, and eventually he came to be directly in front of the glass lidded casket.

The girl was beautiful, with long blond hair that would have made any in the Order jealous. From the stories that her family and friends had told, she would have made a fine Paladin. She wanted to help people, was strong of will and spirit, and in the end gave everything for the one she loved most. He could only hope that he was so brave when his time came.

He traced an armored finger over the surface of the glass and said to the father "It's a travesty, truly. My deepest condolences." The words seemed to shallow that they left a bitter taste in his mouth, but they were all that he could give.

Suddenly a cold bone chilling gust blew the doors at the far end of the room, and a gross feeling washed over him. It was one that he hadn't felt in a long time, but one that he knew he would never forget. The pervasive discomfort that unholy magics brought with them was strong, and he instinctually reached for the holy power deep within himself to counter it. His hands went to his hammer, Judgment, and he turned to face whoever the foul fool was who would dare interrupt the grieving of the family. They had lost enough already, they would not lose the girl's soul as well.

What he found as he came to fully face his soon-to-be opponent, a sense of dread penetrated even through his sense of strength. A mage, obviously very powerful, and a necromancer. That wasn't what made him worried, what did that was the fact that this mage was a skeletal corpse, dried skin clinging just barely to the tall frame. It was a lich, one of the most powerful kinds of necromancers that had ever existed. Behind him were his undead minions.

One was clad in armor blacker than the night, with a long pole arm weapon, dark blade at the end of a long runed pole. The weapon seemed to give off a glow of its own, and the armor that clad the warrior's body seemed to suck the very light out of the space around it. He could hardly see any details through the armor, but he was sure that whoever it was rotted beneath that armor. The next among them was a twisted little thing that looked like it might have been human at some point, hunched low to the ground and crawling like a spider. Behind that was a charred corpse, what looked like a metal hand and a heavy hammer in his hands.

And at their head was the lich. Fine gray robes flowed over his body, and he had a long wooden staff engraved with countless runes, none of which Solace could identify. At the staff's end was a long, shiny spike. The eye sockets of the thing burned with a cold, perverse mockery of what a soul's power should've looked like. A massive leather-bound tome hung off its side, attached by a strong looking chain.

The reaction from those closest to the newcomers was immediate. They turned, looks of horror on their faces ever before they knew what it was. Those youngest and weakest among them fell to what Solace knew from the legends of his Order was one of the major dangers of fighting a lich. Whether they meant to or not, they exuded a fear strong enough to turn even the bravest warrior to a quivering child. Those who were able to resist the effect sat in their seats, not daring to brave the wrath of whatever this thing was. Those who weren't able to steel themselves against this were too paralyzed by fear to do anything but watch as the ancient horror strolled past.

At the back of the room, a few media men had set up cameras to broadcast the event, and most were doing so live, meaning that eyes all around the world were locked to the lich. Solace narrowed his eyes as he tried to think. What was this foul thing planning? What did it stand to gain from this?

As he walked down the aisles, more and more succumbed to the fear that surrounded him. Solace knew that it was unlikely that any would be able to help him in the battle that was surely coming. He glanced behind him, making sure that the girl's body was still safe and unmoving. He had to safeguard it, no matter what. Yang didn't deserve this fate.

The repugnant group of newcomers came within a close distance to him, having reached the end of the rows, and the armored warrior stepped forth, raising her voice and shouting "Step aside, Paladin! We have business that does not concern you!" Her voice seemed to be amplified by something, causing Solace's teeth to chatter and the window panes to shake in their sills. Solace raised Judgment up into a ready position, saying as loudly and authoritatively "All innocent souls are my concern! Leave this place now, and I will not have to destroy you!"

A tension hung in the air so thick that not ever a razor could pass through. Solace watched his enemies carefully for any sign of a response. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, and he suddenly wished that he had had time to put his helmet on.

The lich took a single step forward, and Solace felt the dread presence of the lich in full for the first time. He was glad that the Holy power inside of him shielded him from the effect that would surely be corrosive to his reason. The lich opened its mouth, and a voice that was as still as a whisper, but as clear as a gunshot emanated from its mouth. "Perhaps there is an amicable solution to this problem. Why don't we-" the voice sent chills up the back of his neck, and made his hair stand on end. He spoke out, cutting off the fiend's voice, saying "No! There will be negotiations! You will leave, and never return!"

The lich seemed to give him an exasperated look before looking past him at Ruby and Taiyang. "Perhaps we should consult the family members. It seems rude for us to discuss the matter as if they are not here." He spoke to the remains of the Rose family, saying "I wish to bring Yang into my employ, and this would be made easy if I were to have access to her corpse. Her spirit will be returned to her body, and she would work for myself. I have worked the details out with her myself, and she has found the terms to this contract agreeable."

Ruby looked to her father, a slightly hopeful and mostly confused look on her face. "Bring her back? Can that happen?" Her father put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed tightly, saying "I don't know. I don't know." Solace could see that they were desperate, and likely to accept the deal. He had to make it clear what would happen. He had to warn them of what horrible things would happen to their friend.

"No, don't listen to him! He lies! He will take Yang's soul and twist it, just like he did to his own! It won't be your sister anymore, it will be a monster, a pawn in his game!" Another few seconds of silence followed this before the lich spoke again "I could let you speak to her, if you-"

It was clear that he wouldn't be able to convince them about the evils that the lich practiced, so he took matters into his own hands. He raised Judgment over his head and leapt off of the elevated platform, bringing it down at the lich as hard as he could. The corpse moved faster than he expected, making a single measured step back to avoid the strike. The floor cracked under the might of Solace's attack, and without pause he started to shout one of the most powerful holy chants that he knew. It was said to have been devised by the first Paladin, and could only be spoken in a language that not even he knew. All he had done was memorize the specific words.

The effect was immediate, as a bright light started to emanate from every fiber of his being. The lich, who was the closest of the undead, brought an empty hand up to partially shield himself from the blast, but knew that the safety given by this would only do so much. A bright flash filled every corner of the room as the light exploded out of Solace, striking directly at the unholy abominations around him. The charred zombie and the crouched monster that had a noose around its neck were thrown back as if hit by a physical object, spinning through the air for several seconds before coming back down towards the earth. The one with the smithing hammer simply impacted the ground flat, bearing the brunt of the impact. The spidery one flew much further than him, though, and hit the far wall. Instead of falling, however, it skittered quickly across its length back towards him.

The armored one's armor absorbed all the light that would've struck them, and as such was easily able to counter this attack. It lunged forward, and Solace felt the cold metal glide across his skin as it penetrated a chink that he didn't even know he had on his back. He knew better than to expect some respite though, and leapt back towards the coffin as best as he could.

The lich spoke again, his voice a monotone that was nothing but unnerving considering what had just happened. "Perhaps if we were remove this interloper, we could discuss the issue further. Might I have your permission to do so?"

Solace shook his head and said "Don't do it! No matter how much you want to see her again, the dead must stay dead!" Behind him he heard the rustle of weapons being drawn, but didn't dare look away from his opponents. He was about to speak when the lich beat him to it. "Blake, Weiss, put those away. This is an outdated feud that doesn't concern you." These words caught Solace off guard, but still he stood between the lich and his goal diligently. Why hadn't he tried to turn them against him?

Ruby's voice, weak and tired, but nonetheless awestruck sounding, said "Can… can you really bring her back?" The lich nodded and said "Yes, child, were this rather rude man removed from the premises. I very much doubt I can do it with his constant interruptions." She fell silent again, lost in deep thought.

Judgment glowed with a bright gold light, and he brought it swinging towards the lich again. He only glared back at Solace, unmoving. Just as the mighty blow was about to impact him, something collided with his back, throwing his aim off, and the swing went wide. The scrabbling sound on the back of his armor told him that it was the spider-thing. He cursed himself for letting it out of his vision and started attempting to pull it off.

Ruby looked back at her father for guidance. What should she do? If what the Paladin said was true, she would never forgive herself for letting something like that happen to her sister. But, by the same token, could she live without her sister? It seemed that she couldn't. Her father had his eyes tightly shut, unwilling or unable to make a decision. She looked to her friends, hoping that they might have some useful input. Instead, they were only watching the battle with slack jawed expressions on their faces. It seemed that she was the only one that was going to be able to give the leader of the zombie things an answer.

Something caught her gaze just behind the leader, and she tried to focus on it. It was difficult at first, but as her eyes focused on it, she was sure that she could make out the faintest outline of Yang behind him, a confident smile on her face. She blinked a few times, and the image didn't fade. She could have imagined the thing, but she could've sworn that she felt Yang close by, and not just in the box inches from her.

She spoke up, sure of her answer entirely. "Yes! Please, bring Yang back!"

Morgana leapt off of the Paladin's backbreaking her fall with a quick roll before bouncing back behind Naze. The lich, for his part, was as close to smiling as he had been in a very long time. He bowed his head respectfully and said "As you wish, Ms. Rose."

Solace shouted again, not any catechism or prayer, but a raw, throaty battle cry. He poured as much of himself into his holy power as he could, a bright shield enveloping him, and lowered his head in a charge at the lich, hammer out, ready to die to protect the world from whatever the lich had planned.

Naze brought his staff to bear of the charging tank of a man, building death energy in it as he waited for him to come within range of the attack he had planned. Again, Solace brought his hammer forward, striking out. Just before Judgment hit, a blast of raw death energy, a fetid mix of black, purple, and green, slammed into the Paladin like a blow from a titan. It forced him back, completely halting his charge and even making him stumble back.

The blast was redoubled, unfocused necrotic power emitting from the end of the staff like a shotgun blast hot on the heels of the first one, and Solace was completely overpowered. His golden aegis of holy light shattering, and his body being flung so fast away from the lich that he hardly knew what was happening when the hit the doors, knocking one completely off its hinges as he flew like a missile away. He tried to move, but when his shield had been broken, it took almost all of his energy along with it. He impacted the ground, armor carving long grooves in the ground where it met the tile and pavement. HE slowed to a stop and tried to push himself up. His muscles were too weak, though, and he could only lay face down on the ground, wondering why he was not dead. Why had the lich not killed him?

* * *

Naze turned back to the coffin, ignoring the shocked faces that were the only response to his dismissal of the Paladin and instead beckoning Yang's spirit back to her body. She obliged, and he immediately started weaving her soul back into the flesh. The process took several minutes, but after it was done, he put his arms down and stepped back.

Ruby looked at him with a puzzled expression for a moment before looking back down at her sister inside of the glass. She was about to ask what had gone wrong when Yang's eyes flicked open, and a cocky grin came across the soft face that had appeared asleep for so long. Her remaining hand clenched into a fist, and she shot it through the glass without hesitation.

Flying shards of the transparent material scattered everywhere, thankfully not doing any harm to anyone along the way. Yang slowly slid her legs over the side of the coffin and pushed herself off, taking her time to acclimate to having a body again. After a few seconds, she looked out over the crowd of onlookers, raised her arms over her head, and proclaimed loudly "I'm back, bitches!"


End file.
